


Becoming Batwoman | Curiouser and Curiouser

by EQT_95



Series: Becoming Batwoman [7]
Category: Batwoman (Comic), Batwoman (TV 2019), DCU
Genre: Action/Adventure, Adventure & Romance, F/F, batmoore
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-13
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:15:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 29
Words: 146,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24168691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EQT_95/pseuds/EQT_95
Summary: As Kate Kane struggles to take on Gotham crime as Batwoman, her ability to balance the rest of her life is challenged. Will she recognise what really matters before it's too late? Can she protect those closest to her? This story picks up at the plot crossroads of S1E13 and E14 with some artistic liberties.
Relationships: Kate Kane/Sophie Moore
Series: Becoming Batwoman [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1749118
Comments: 77
Kudos: 103





	1. Chapter 1

Batwoman landed on the fifth floor terrace of an apartment building on the southern edge of the Upper East Side. She had arrived faster than her courage, and she was left second guessing why she chose to do this. A grappling hook wasn't an easy thing to master but neither was this, and Batwoman felt more unprepared than ever.

A silhouette appeared through the terrace's open doors of the apartment. Batwoman stood frozen, her chest tightening, her breath shortening. She clenched and unclenched her fists indecisively, half wanting to reach for her grappling gun, half wanting to charge through the doors. Neither action addressed what she was there to do.

The silhouette had seen her. It was too late to bail, and Batwoman swallowed against her dry mouth. Her heart rate increased, and she quietly cursed herself for wavering now, of all days, hours, minutes, moments of her life. She watched from the terrace as the silhouette came closer - her eyes darted to the flow of brown curls moving slightly against the breeze cutting into the open room. Slowly, she absorbed the silhouette’s entire form, taking in the casual swing of her shoulders and arms, the swaying curves of her waist, and the bright warmth of her chocolate brown eyes.

"This is definitely a first," came her voice crossing the threshold and revealing herself in whole to Batwoman.

"Uh - me too, actually."

"You mean you don't run wild in the streets, kissing all the damsels you save?" came the response playfully. There was a brightness and warmth in the smile that delivered them.

Batwoman smiled weakly in return and averted her gaze. She wasn't used to this. Batwoman was confident. She could face down muggers, murderers and thieves, but when it came to Sophie? Sophie was Batwoman's kryptonite because Sophie was Kate's kryptonite.

Taking a breath and mentally shaking herself, she began, "Look, I-"

"Do you want to come in?"

Kate faltered.  _ Did she want to come in? _ She blinked.  _ Does the sun rise to the east? _ Of course she did. More than anything she wanted to break out of her own mask and take Sophie into her arms again. The memory of last night washed over her once more - Sophie's soft, welcoming lips on hers; the feel of her hands on her waist, leaning, pressing against her warmth; Sophie's hands brushing her cheek -

"No," Kate said out loud, more to herself than to Sophie. Now was Sophie's turn to falter, and Kate saw her recoil slightly toward the shadows of her flat - her face now concealed in shadow. Kate instinctively reached out an arm for her, "I mean, I can't - this can't - we can't do this Sophie. Last night was…"

"A mistake?" Sophie feared aloud.

"Indescribable," Kate finished, her eyes returning Sophie's gaze. "It was - it was utterly indescribable. Sophie, I'm not saying 'no' because I don't want you. Believe me, l don't remember ever wanting something this badly…"

"But?"

"This can't happen. I'm Batwoman. I have enemies who, given the chance, would use you against me."

Sophie's eyes narrowed, "I can take care of myself - I'm a Crow. I'm trained to deal with people coming after me."

"It's not that simple, and you know it. Every night I'm out there, I'm protecting those close to me by wearing this mask, and I won't put them at risk through my actions. That includes you. I could never live with myself if I was the cause in bringing harm to you - you're too important to me."

Kate stopped. She knew she had slipped, but her resolve became clearer as fears for Sophie's safety flooded her words. The reality of her actions and the risk it meant for Sophie had never been so clear as this moment. Yes, she cared about everyone in her life, but Sophie especially so. The feelings from years ago lingered, burning stronger now not out of lust, but out of her need to protect Sophie. Even if this meant never being with Sophie, this nothing was better than living in terror for her and in secret of her.

Sophie's head tilted slightly as she took in Batwoman's words. This was a lot for a single rooftop kiss. Sure, there had been more - Sophie had felt it begin weeks ago, but this was more than she expected. It didn't make sense. Was Batwoman speaking through some former relationship? Had Batwoman been hurt before? Had there been someone else? She said this was a first for her, too. Was that a lie? What had happened that made her so resolute now? Confused, Sophie felt a wave of sympathy for Batwoman. She was building a wall to protect people close to her, yes, but she was also building a wall to keep those same people out.

"So what do you propose?" Sophie asked, searching for Batwoman to reveal something more, but Batwoman's demeanor had changed. They were an arm's length apart but in a matter of seconds, Batwoman felt unreachable to Sophie.

"I need to walk away."

For Sophie, she was riddled with questions. Her curiosity was the reason she was second in command of the Crows. She had spent her life honing skills to interrogate a situation, but in this moment she was at a loss.

The ensuing pause was unbearable to Kate. She knew her words were giving up on a hope she had been carrying for years, and every second that passed was a second she risked changing her mind.

"Ok," Sophie responded softly, jolting Batwoman from her thoughts.  "Ok," Sophie repeated more forcefully this time, stepping forward to close the physical distance between them. She stared into Batwoman's eyes, taking in the fear, confusion, and love swimming in them. In that moment she was struck by a feeling of familiarity - as though she had stared into that same mixture of emotions before. The difference was in that memory she was the one saying 'no'. In that memory she was making a mistake. Seeing this, Sophie leaned toward Batwoman and challenged:

"So walk."

Sophie could feel the heat radiating between them. She searched Batwoman's eyes for hesitation, and for a split second, she saw it and felt her heart skip. She wanted this - Batwoman and her. She felt a strange familiarity and comfort in Batwoman's gaze that she hadn't felt in years - she certainly hadn't felt it in her marriage to Tyler. She felt herself falling for the mystery in front of her, and she leaned in to close the space between her lips and Batwoman's.

But before she could, Batwoman stepped back and a cool breeze vanished the warmth and energy between them. Before Sophie could react, Batwoman's grappling hook was out and directed toward an adjacent building.

"Goodbye Sophie."

In a blink the shadow of Batwoman slowly disappeared into the night, and Sophie was left alone on her terrace. 

* * *

a/n hi all, I hope you’ve enjoyed this. This is a repost from fanfiction.net, and I plan to update this story to match up to the latest chapters on the platform. For context, I began writing this after catching (binging) up to S1E13-14 and decided to develop my take on how the story could evolve. The format won’t align with the show or carry a consistent storyline - instead they will be ‘excerpts’ of a larger story, so if you decide to follow along, don’t worry that it feels like there are gaps: this is intended. Obviously the show still exists, and influence may be taken from that for later chapters, but generally it will stay separate.


	2. Chapter 2

“You didn’t hear a word I just said.”

“I… no. Sorry, what did you say?”

Luke sighed in exasperation. “Is this about Sophie?”

Kate waved her hand dismissively, “Luke, you don’t have to wor-”

“Don’t I? Because you’ve practically been absent all week. You know who hasn’t been? Nocturna. And thanks to the Crows' remarkable ineptitude, she got away. She’s increased her victim talley by three, and we’re nowhere nearer finding her.”

Luke slid a folder toward Kate who opened it to images snapped of the recent crime scenes. It was true Nocturna had slipped through the Crow’s fingers. What was unclear was how. Kate began flipping through the files, using them as a distraction to right herself. “You’re right, I’ll be focused. But are we really going to give Natalia the satisfaction of still referring to her as ‘Nocturna’?”

Luke shrugged with indifference.

The first victim was the son of a local millionaire whose claim to fame was setting up a failing hedge fund and cashing himself out before things went south for his clients. While the father was certainly morally questionable, it didn’t mean his son deserved to be hung up to drain.

The second victim was the daughter of a fashionista. She had grown up flying the world with her mother from runway show to runway show. “‘I’d rather die than be caught in last season.’ Now that’s a life motto,” Kate observed reading from her instagram profile.

The third was unlike the others: she didn’t come from money and certainly didn’t subscribe to the lush life of one. Instead, she had been absorbed into the influencer culture through her own make-up tutorial channels.

“They were all found in abandoned buildings bound and drained of their blood. Except now, there are other injuries,” Luke added.

“Are these facial cuts? And these victims don’t fit with her earlier profiles. They seem… of a more posh class,” Kate noted. “Was there any CCTV?”

“I’ve already reviewed it. In all three cases we see her dragging the immobile victim into a building and leaving the same way approximately an hour later.”

“It says here that unlike the first set of victims, these weren’t fully drained of their blood.”

“That plus the topical injuries? Sounds like she’s getting sloppy,” Luke offered.

“Or paranoid. Anything else?”

“Yea, the abandoned warehouse locations? They’re all within a two block radius of Gotham’s largest nightclubs.”

“At least that M.O. hasn’t changed,” Kate concluded. “I can’t wait to sink my teeth into this one,” Kate said with a smirk, reclining back into her chair.

“Don’t do that,” Luke said.

“Do what?”

“Say awful one-liners like this is a t.v. show or something.”

Kate rolled her eyes, “fine.”

* * *

“Anything?” came a restless Luke over the earpiece.

“Not yet.”  
  
“Yet? Kate, it’s been two hours. This is one of tens of clubs in Gotham. Nocturna could show up at any one of these - how are you so sure this is the one?”

“Because I checked out Mary’s instagram, and this is the only other club big enough and dark enough for Nocturna to slip through unnoticed.”

“How is she, by the way? Mary, I mean,” Luke asked.

“She seems good. Nocturna had drained a litre and a half before she was interrupted, but a blood transfusion got her up and about in no time. Fortunately Mary keeps a small blood bank at the clinic.”

“That - that’s great news!” Luke exclaimed.

Kate paused, skeptical of Luke’s left-field interest in Mary.

“Any sight of Nocturna?” Luke followed quickly, interrupting Kate’s curiosity. She smirked to herself and mentally bookmarked this conversation for another time. “She’ll show. Besides, it’s not like you had plans tonight anyway.”

“You don’t - I’ll - I’ll have you know that I cancelled, uh, some pretty baller plans.”

“ _Baller_ plans?” Kate teased.

“W-well, th-”  
  
“Hold it. I think we’ve got something. You lucky duck - guess you’ll just have to tell me about your _baller_ plans later,” Kate mocked, ignoring Luke’s scoffs of annoyance and narrowing her attention onto a hooded figure coming out of the rear emergency exit. “What are you up to…” she muttered, and as though on cue, the figure grabbed a loose brick to lodge the door open. She re-entered the building and, seconds later, appeared dragging a human-sized form down the alley.

“What have you got?”

“I spy a Nocturna,” Kate grinned.

“What did I just say not even four hours ago? You aren’t a t.v. show. That is the cheesiest shit, Kate. I am literally the only person who can hear you. Just, go save people’s lives or something.”

“Well that just got a little trickier,” Kate commented, noticing two vans pull up to the building.

“What is it?”

“Crows.”

* * *

Sophie was in the passenger seat of the second van to arrive on scene. Crow scouts had been keeping watch over clubs all over Gotham for sight of Nocturna, and a pin had directed them up town. Jacob led the team in front, and his orders were clear: capture Nocturna at any cost. The task team from her van unloaded and gathered around Sophie for instruction, and she relayed Jacob's message but cautioned them against anything brash. Just as she was about to break down the infiltration strategy, she saw Jacob's team begin unloading the back of the van - they removed six cases of explosives.

She left her team to confront Jacob, "what is this?" she demanded, pulling him aside and watching the Crows arm themselves with gear. She glared at him accusingly, "you're going to get someone killed," she hissed. "This was not part of the raid strategy."

"We agreed 'at any cost', Sophie. It's time to stop playing games - children are being murdered by a psychopath, and the city of Gotham needs someone to step in. GCPD's deep corruption means we are the only ones capable of getting the job done."

Sophie gritted her teeth, "Sir, with all due respect, this is not a plan of action that guarantees Crow or victim safety."

"Gotham is counting on us -"

"You mean Gotham's elite are counting on us," Sophie challenged. "Until big money got involved, the Crows blissfully forgot that we were responsible for Nocturna getting away the first time."

"How dare you," Jacob threatened. "Let's not forget _Batwoman_ is the reason Nocturna hasn't been captured. If not for her involvement, she'd have been detained days ago."

Sophie knew logic wouldn't prevail against Jacob. His hatred for Batwoman had expanded beyond distrust. It had boiled over to something more, and she wouldn't be able to convince him on the steps of an abandoned warehouse.

"Just limit the explosives, _sir_ ," she said, backing away toward her team, "because my side will have none of it."

* * *

“I’m picking up twelve bodies,” Luke advised as Batwoman made her way to the warehouse’s rooftop.

“Twelve plus Nocturna and the victim? Or twelve including them?”

“Twelve plus - no, twelve including them.”

“So there are ten Crows?”

“No, twelve Crows, plus two.”

Kate sighed.

“I heard that.”

Kate crouched along the parapet as Luke identified where the Crows were spreading out around the building. She found where a portion of the roof had collapsed in and approached cautiously, peering into the space for any sight of Nocturna. She listened closely for noises but only the distant sounds of the night club echoed through the night. She climbed down to the exposed rafters. Once perched, she examined the space - it was a massive warehouse, easily fifty feet tall with old, shattered industrial clerestory windows feeding moonlight into the space. Below was an open floor plan littered with old, rusting cargo shipping containers. _Well this isn’t helpful_.

She paused, listening again for any shred of sound to identify which container Nocturna might be in. In that moment, a flurry of lights shone through the cracks of the deteriorating corrugated siding. She sighed at the Crow’s lack of tact. Of course the full force would be involved now that Gotham’s elite was falling victim to the attacks.

She perched a moment longer, waiting to see how the Crows might proceed before making her move. A creak from her left identified three Crows entering the space from the East, guns raised. A sound from the other side of the warehouse caught her attention. The sound came from a cargo container.

_Got you._ Kate thought as she began to move through the rafters toward the noise. Unfortunately the Crows had other ideas. Two simultaneous blasts shook the warehouse as the north and west entrances were blown open, and three Crows flocked through each opening toward the middle. Shouting flooded the space, echoing off the walls as the Crows spread out, clearing zones of the warehouse one at a time.

“What’s happening?” Luke asked, unable to decipher the noises.

“A complication,” she said as another explosion rocked the space and she identified another group of three Crows entering, “at this pace they’re going to demolish this entire building.”

“How can I help?”

“Find Nocturna.”

“Already on it… but this feed is really lagging,” Luke said. “And, hang on, this doesn’t look right - you only saw one victim get pulled out of the club by Nocturna?”

Another blast forced Kate to brace against the rattling rafters, “Yes, why?”

“Because I’m reading three thermal bodies in a cargo container.”

“Where?”

“Three units east of you.”

Kate scanned the chaos below her: Crows were splitting up, casting a wider net searching cargo holds. Shouting was drowned out by another blast. _What are they doing?_ Kate asked to herself, cursing the heavy-handed approach the Crows were taking. She observed them shooting tear gas canisters into cargo containers.

“Someone is going to get murdered by this murder,” Kate mumbled critically.

“Really? A Crow joke?” remarked Luke, “have you no shame?”

Instead of responding, Kate attached her grappling hook to the rafters and descended onto the cargo container adjacent to where Luke had identified moments earlier. The closest batch of Crows was still at least four cargo-widths.

“What’s the plan,” Luke asked over the ricochettes of canisters on metal.

“Any chance the utility belt has a face mask?”

“This is the big leagues, Batwoman. Of course there’s a face mask. It’s on your three o’clock. The mask will deploy eye gear when you attach the base on.”

“I feel like Bane,” Kate commented.

“You sound like Bane.”

* * *

Sophie was navigating toward a series of cargo containers when the first two blasts forced her and her two comrades to hold in place. _All bark, no bite._ She thought bitterly. This wasn’t the first time she disagreed with Jacob’s command, but this was the first time voicing her opinion made no difference. Jacob and her worked well because they balanced each other out, but recently, Jacob’s use of rank to overrule her was jeopardizing the work.

“This is mad,” Willis said from her left. “Er… ma’am,” he followed, realising his error.

“We’re all mad here,” responded Paulie from Sophie’s right.

“Yea, well if we weren’t, we wouldn’t be here,” Sophie replied. “Stay covered and be diligent of your surroundings - Nocturna may be one person, but her crimes are no joke. Now, you take left, and Paulie, you go right. I’ll head up the middle. We regroup in three containers.”

An additional blast cued their separation. High risk situations were Sophie’s bread and butter. She revelled in her ability to remain calm and focused in the face of the unknown. It’s what made her a great Crow and a fantastic commander. She sidled along the edges of the containers, concealing herself against the shadowed edges. The plus side of half the squad taking aggressive tactics was that it allowed her team to slip unnoticed along the east edge.

She was coming upon her second container when a soft thud forced her to pause in place. Sophie held still, searching for sounds within her proximity over the echoes further down the building. A soft shuffle vibrated the metal of the container she leaned against. Sophie crouched down and backed up slightly, taking in the view of the entire container and came eye-to-eye with Batwoman. 

Sophie lowered her gun, “What are you doing ?” she asked quietly.

“Making sure Nocturna doesn’t end up getting away again. I thought I had done a pretty good job with the handoff last time, but apparently not,” Batwoman replied.

“That wasn’t my fault,” Sophie quickly began, “Jaco-”

“I wasn’t blaming you,” Batwoman responded simply. Sophie stared in surprised. “She’s in there,” Batwoman continued, nodding toward the container on Sophie’s right. “But be careful - I’m picking up a third body.”

Sophie nodded in understanding and waited for Paulie to round the corner at their meet point. She flagged him over and he made a motion to the distance to Willis. The two made their way over and gathered at the doors. Willis gripped the handle and used his full weight to swing it open. The three directed their guns through the opening, shouting for the occupants to freeze, but the shouts quickly turned to confusion: their lights shone on a limp form lay in the middle of the unit, but the unit was otherwise empty. Willis and Paulie immediately entered to address the victim, but Sophie remained to confront Batwoman. She turned around and scanned the adjacent cargo tops only to discover she was gone.

* * *

“What do you mean she vanished?” Kate demanded, now on the building’s rooftop. “She was cornered!”

“I don’t know; the system isn’t a direct live feed. I told you it’s been lagging.”

“How much of a head start does she have?”

“Maybe four minutes?”

“That doesn’t make any sense. The Crows would have had every entrance blocked off in that time.”

“Hang on… damn, I should have realised sooner. Kate, there’s a crawl space under this warehouse.”

“A crawl space? For a warehouse designed to house tons of weight in cargo containers?”

“It was a Gotham initiative from years ago: geothermal heating and cooling. This structure has a labyrinth of crawl space that collects naturally heated and cooled air.”

“For what? English, please.”

“It probably gets sourced into an adjacent building that needs active heating or cooling.”

“Can you figure out what building it’s connected to?”

“It’ll take a minute.”

“Nocturna can’t get away again, Luke.”

Seconds turned to minutes, and Kate was getting restless, “Anything?” she pressed. She was now observing the Crows searching the building’s perimeter, obviously realising that Nocturna had escaped.

“Databases aren’t showing me plans, and you’re too far outside of Wayne Tech’s reach - the lag is making this impossible. I can review the footage once it’s buffered, but I don’t see anything on the live feed.”

Kate exhaled sharply in frustration. “And you’re sure there were two plus the victim?” Kate asked, “or was that a blip as well?”

“That definitely wasn’t a blip. She must be working with someone. Unless there was a second victim, but that seems doubtful. You only saw her bring out one, and she wouldn’t have left another one in there alive for hours. I’m backing out the footage from earlier in the day now.”

Kate was pacing the rooftop looking down at the Crows. An ambulance had now arrived and was bringing out the victim on a gurney. “At least we got there in time to stop this one,” Kate muttered, keeping an eye out for another gurney. When one didn’t come, she began pondering how Nocturna found an ally.

“Yes, there was definitely a second. Two thermal bodies have been using that warehouse since at least this afternoon. We can tap into surrounding CCTV and see if there’s anything to work off of.”

“Good. Keep me posted on anything you find. I’ll keep watch in case anything comes out of the Crow search. I’ll be back by dawn.”


	3. Chapter 3

“Why are bad guys so keen to partner up with each other!?” Kate moaned as she collapsed into the lounge chair in Bruce’s old office. “First Alice with Mouse, now this.”

The frustration from the night before hung in the air as Kate grappled with the realisation that Batwoman had failed to protect the city for the second time in as many weeks. And now the threat included another menace. It didn’t help that she neglected to follow up with Sophie after leaving her high and dry back at the warehouse. She was running out of chances with her one Crow ally.

“Have you been able to trace this new mystery chic?” Kate asked, running a hand frustratedly through her hair. The double life was starting to get to her, and the exhaustion was showing itself as a shorter temper.

“Not yet, but I don’t think last night was her first rodeo. Take a look at this,” Luke said, rotating his laptop toward Kate. “Those physical injuries on the last three victims? They mimic last night’s victim’s injuries.”

“They look like-”

“A grotesque smile,” Luke finished. “Anything look familiar?” he asked, loading a picture of the duo. Nocturna remained hooded as usual, but the other figure was unabashedly exposed.

“Her face. They have the same markings.”

“I’ll do some more checking. In the meantime, you need to sleep.”

“Lu-”

“That wasn’t a request, Batwoman. If you’re going to keep it up, you can’t continue like this. Take advantage of your club-owning status and blame it on a late night of partying.”

“Fine. Message me if you find anything,” Kate responded, lifting herself from the chair, “Another victim is not an option.”

* * *

Sophie Moore was not an easily frazzled person. She'd been raised in a classic middle-class American home in the suburbs of Gotham by two loving parents. She went to Church every Sunday and had participated in soccer since she was old enough to kick a ball. When she was 14, her dad lost his job after a local factory shut down and, having few employable skills outside of that position, struggled to keep down a steady job. When she was 16, the family had to downsize to a smaller home with a shared party wall and no backyard. She picked up a job to help ends meet at the corner grocer, and in all of it, she was happy, and worked harder than anyone she knew. Anyone would tell you her work ethic deserved the top ranking grades she received, and when she was awarded the full ride scholarship to the Military Academy based on merit alone, no one was surprised. Sophie saw this as her chance to move up in the world and make the difference she always longed for.

That same Sophie Moore was now leaving the Crow's facility into the midday sun after receiving an indefinite suspension. The reason? for disobeying her commanding officer and thereby 'enlisting with it a sense of distrust inconsistent with the expectations of and loyalty from a Crow.'

To say Sophie was upset would be putting it mildly. The only other time she had come this close to failing was her third year in Military Academy - this was not something she was used to and something she was not prepared to deal with. It also occurred to her as she wandered the bustling sidewalk that she didn't know who to call or where to go. For the last four years her life had revolved around the Crows, and since her separation with Tyler, the circle of friends around that had also slowly severed.

She wandered north and found herself on Gotham University's campus. It was the only zone in Gotham that still maintained any green space, and Sophie had always enjoyed walking through it, imagining what it would have been like to go to a public university like it. 

She observed with a pang of jealousy the groups of friends lounging on the greenery, and the couples stealing kisses while walking to class. Sophie found herself reflecting on her time at the Academy when stealing kisses meant risking expulsion, and she felt her cheeks warm at the embarrassed feeling of being caught lip-locked, pressed against the shed in the woods. It was a day not dissimilar to today - one of the first warm spring days of the year, and the chance to get out into the sun was on everyone’s mind. Everyone but Kate who had wanted to stay in and study, but Sophie had persuaded her to sneak out between classes for a chance at alone time. She lived this decision over again and again every day of her life. They were roommates with ample opportunities to be alone, but Sophie was insistent on that day, and it resulted in disaster to one of the best people in her life.

In the midst of her daydreaming, she nearly missed her name being called over and over.

"Soph!! SOPHIE!"

Sophie looked up and saw a smiling Mary chasing her down from across the university lawn. By the time she reached Sophie, Mary was flush in the face, her papers dishevelled, and her words coming out in gasps, "Got you! I thought that was you!"

The unlikely meeting turned into lunch at a corner cafe where the two caught up. They were an unlikely duo brought together by their relationship: one where Sophie was once her bodyguard. Mary was the outgoing socialite, and Sophie was the introverted observer, but the two had developed a mutual respect for their loyalty and motivation to do good. This was never clearer than when Sophie watched Mary help complete strangers after an elevator accident. There was also the obvious example when Batwoman brought Sophie, injured by a bullet, to the clinic and Mary saved her life. More than that, she then defended Batwoman to Sophie even though she had no reason to other than she thought Batwoman was doing good for Gotham.

"What are you doing later," Mary asked as they wrapped up their meals. Before Sophie could respond, Mary continued, "trick question: you're on suspension. That means you can come with me to the Hold Up tonight."

Sophie’s side eye gave away her suspensions, "Uh, no, thanks. The last time I was there you abandoned me."

"Oh come on, it'll be fuuun. I already promised Kate I'd swing by to help bring some influencer status to the space, and I can't flake out again."

"Again? What happened last time?"

"Clinic stuff,” Mary waved off, “Kate understood, but she's really trying to get under her homophobic neighbor's skin."

"Ah, I remember him," Sophie said, recalling the confrontational lunch that had her and Kate kicked out.

"Yea, and I promised to help in any way I could. Sometimes that means turning a Wednesday night into something for page 6 to write about. So, you'll come out?"

* * *

Hours later, Sophie and Mary made their way to the Hold Up. Mary was gleefully draped in a perfectly cut dress of reds with a famous designer tag tucked somewhere underneath. Sophie, not one to afford such attire nor have much interest in it, chose a simpler black dress from the back of her closet. It wasn't that Sophie didn't enjoy dressing up and going out - she just rarely had the occasion to do so, and her three-year old wardrobe was not-so-subtle evidence of that.

Mary pulled Sophie into the throws of bodies inside before she had a chance to consider hesitating. Even for a Wednesday, the bar was hopping, and it was just starting to fill up for the evening. Dance music drowned most conversation out, but Sophie understood Mary’s miming about grabbing a drink at the bar. Sophie nodded, recognising liquid courage was her best bet to get through a night with Mary.

* * *

Kate was in the back room. She had tried following Luke’s suggestion about getting some rest, but after three hours of restlessness, she decided her time would be better spent living up her charade as a club-owning member of society. She was impressed by how quickly the Hold Up had taken off as she took inventory of her depleted liquor stock. More to that, Mary’s enthusiasm for the bar meant she was becoming a regular which certainly helped accelerate attention for the little hole in the wall. In fact, Mary was stopping by tonight and, a timely ping on Kate’s phone meant she had arrived. Kate pulled her phone out expecting a slur of emojis marking Mary’s entrance, but when Kate flipped her screen on, she was instead caught off guard by a Gotham Gazette notification:

“Breaking News: In effort to apprehend Nocturna (a.k.a. Natalia Knight), Crows irreparably blast two buildings in the Warehouse District owned by the Crowne Family. More updates to come…”

Kate cursed to herself. She quickly dialed Luke who picked up on the first ring, “You heard?” he asked.

“Why didn’t we know about this?” Kate demanded.

“That’s not the worst of it,” Luke interjected. “Nocturna is dead.”

“How do you know?”

“GCPD radio; they’re trying to determine if there were other victims, but that’s been confirmed.”

“I’ll be there in 20 min-”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea? Batwoman showing up in the middle of this carnage? We should keep our distance from this one. Any association with Batwoman will be ammunition for Jacob to point a finger, and you can’t be made the scapegoat for this.”

Kate was silent for a minute, weighing Luke’s words.  _ He’s not wrong _ she thought. “All right. But any word of more activity, let me know.”

“Of course.”

* * *

The news was still distracting Kate as she came out from the back with a crate of bottles to restock the bar. Music and lights didn’t diminish it either.  _ How could the Crows resort to something so destructive twice in two nights? _ She kept asking herself.  _ We need to find out who is funding this search _ , she realised. The Crows weren’t so profitable that military-level explosives could be used like rubber bullets. Jacob had sunk nearly 80% of the Kane-family trust into the Crow enterprise, and they were only now just bringing in a profit. This had to be a privately-funded venture by someone with deep pockets or someone with the right connections.

Her internal monologue was suddenly interrupted by a force from her left engulfing her. Kate nearly counter-attacked then quickly realized Mary had arrived, and her form of greeting had, while innocent in nature, had grabbed Kate in a bear hug and threatened the lives of Jack Daniels and Bacardi in Kate’s arms.

“I didn’t know you were working tonight!” Mary exclaimed. “This is just perfect! You can drink with us!”

“Us?” Kate asked, recovering her balance and surveying Mary’s immediate surroundings. Her eyes landed on Sophie’s and Kate stared back confusedly. “Wh-Soph? What are you doing here?” she asked, setting the crate on the bar. A barback immediately took to task restocking the shelves for her.

“She was suspended,” Mary had intended as a whisper but, to be heard over the music, it came out as a shout.

“Suspended?!” Kate gaped. “I don’t understand. What could you  _ possibly _ have been suspended for? You’re the perfect Crow. You’re second in command!”

Kate wasn’t sure if her reaction was about her former girlfriend (and current crush) being suspended from her dream job or about more light being shed on tonight’s less than savory actions by the Crows.

“It’s a long story,” Sophie began.

“And one that requires shots!” Mary interrupted. “Three please!” she requested from the bartender.

“No, none for me,” Kate said, lifting her hands in defense. “I-uh, I have work to do.”

“At 9pm on a Wednesday? Kate, you own a bar. This is basically your job,” Mary concluded, shoving clear liquid into her and Sophie’s hands. “To Sophie’s suspension!”

Mary immediately shot back her glass. Kate and Sophie hesitated briefly before following suit with Kate taking the brief distraction to sneak a closer look at Sophie in her dress. A flush of warmth swept through her - she couldn’t decide how much was the alcohol and how much was being in the presence of such utter perfection.

“Three more!” Mary shouted, slamming her glass on the bar.

“Wh-” “N-no” “Yea, no.”

Mary ignored them as she ushered the bartender over to replenish their glasses. Meanwhile, Kate was looking for a way out of the conversation. While she enjoyed Mary’s company and wished to linger a while longer with Sophie, she had the Crows on her mind, and if Sophie was suspended, this made her even more anxious to get over to Wayne Tower.

Mary handed both Sophie and Kate a glass. She wasn’t necessarily interested in getting plastered on a Wednesday, but she also saw this as an opportunity to bond with Kate and Sophie. And she also knew the best way to do that was to lighten the mood with some natural blood thinner. She knew how to be insistent, and, after some persuading Kate, all parties were tossing back their second shot of the night.

* * *

“Wait, wait, let me get this straight,” Mary said, a slight slur in her speech, “you told Jacob he was a ‘washed-up fraud of a leader’ in front of the entire Crow task force?”

Sophie was not as much of a lightweight as Mary, so she still had the ability to recall the day’s earlier conversation where she had already relayed this entire story to Mary. She stared at her, mildly amused at her former boss’s step daughter’s antics. Mary sure knew how to lighten the mood. Sophie glanced at Kate who had been pensive for the entire regaling of Sophie’s suspension. She was clearly deep in thought, and Sophie wondered what was running through her ex’s mind.

_ My ex _ , Sophie thought for what seemed like the first time in years. She found herself staring at Kate as Mary’s voice fell into the background talking about the time she too had tried to confront Jacob when she was a teenager. Kate was still lost in thought and Mary couldn’t help but notice the slight furrow of her brow. It was a classic Kate look - always thoughtful, always concerned. Sure, Kate maintained the persona of a carefree spirit, but Sophie knew Kate had more complexity than that.

At the Academy, Kate was a natural at everything, and that made her intimidating among the women and men in their class. But more than that, she was a natural leader. Yes, she had certain bullish qualities, but she managed to get the best out of everyone. Sophie recalled her first three weeks of first term when basic drills were bringing out the worst flaws in people, but Kate took it all in stride. More than that, she had an eye out for everyone. By week two, it was obvious there were a handful of stragglers. Instead of letting them flail, Kate gave up her evenings to train with them. In no time at all, their entire year was performing collectively better than any class the Academy had ever seen.

Sophie still carried resentment toward her alma mater for the way they dismissed Kate, and she knew Kate carried a chip on her own shoulder about it. She had every right to graduate and transition into her dream as a Crow. Sophie caught herself at this thought: These Crows were the same Crows who, not ten hours earlier, had dismissed her without batting an eye.  _ Would things have been better with Kate at the helm?  _ Sophie wondered. 

She shook herself from thought and realised Mary and Kate were both studying their phones intently. 

"You guys are the best company," Sophie teased, but quieted when she saw Kate's look of frustration. "What's wrong?" She asked, pulling out her own phone to see three notifications from the Gotham Gazette. The first mirrored what Kate had seen an hour earlier, but the next two were even more jarring:

"Three victims found in the rubble of warehouse explosions from recent Crow activity. None of the three survived."

"Gotham City declares review of Crow's authority and jurisdiction after botched raid leaves four dead and millions of dollars destroyed in inventory at Crowne Family warehouses."

Kate stared at her phone.  _ What was Dad thinking? _ She thought to herself. This thought rippled through both Gotham Gazette notifications and her learning about Sophie’s suspension. Kate couldn’t imagine a Gotham without the Crows, but she also couldn’t imagine the Crows as they were now: disruptive, bull-headed, and reactive. 

She saw an incoming call from Luke flood her screen, and she sighed with relief as she excused herself to answer it.

“Kate, the Cro-”

“I just saw. Gotham Gazette beat you to the headline again.”

“I’m sorry, I was neck deep in surveillance footage.”

“It’s fine - it’s a war, not a battle, remember? What else do you have?” Kate asked, slipping out of the music-ladden bar into the alley to better hear.

“Honestly? Not much. GCPD is scouring the site for evidence, but it all seems pretty cut and dry: the Crows were tipped off that Nocturna was housed in the area, and they managed to corner her before she could escape. Unfortunately that meant a rather extreme ending for her…” Luke trailed off.

“The Crows were tipped off? By who?”

“That’s the question of the night. As far as we knew, Nocturna was severely under the radar. That’s what’s made her so hard to track: she was good, Kate. She knows her way around places. So for her to be tipped off, I can’t help but wonder if her new buddy -”

“Was the one who tipped the Crows off. Can we find out more?” Kate pressed.

“Doubtful. I think we might be best placed to tap Sophie for some intel.”

“Sophie was suspended,” Kate responded plainly, “so we’ll need a different strategy.”

“No shit. Why?”

“I’ll explain later. It’s a thing. Jacob sounds beyond unhinged. I think Alice’s death is really getting to him.”

* * *

Mary watched as Kate made her way back to the duo and listened to her offer a generic excuse about needing to get some work done. Mary had her ongoing suspicions of Kate and had said as much to Kate weeks ago at this very bar, but Kate revealed nothing to Mary’s chagrin. Mary contemplated arguing against her leaving to help Kate save face, but she was beaten to the punch by Sophie:

“What? No, you should stay.”

Kate stared back, clearly caught off guard by Sophie, “I… uhm, I-I can’t.”

“Come on Kate, just do it tomorrow. Stay and enjoy a night off. This is your own damn bar after all, and what good is that if you can’t splurge and occasionally abuse that privilege?,” Sophie responded. She brought her drink to her lips, blushing slightly as she realised the amount of force behind her words. She definitely wanted Kate to stay, but she wasn’t entirely sure why. Was it nostalgia? Her frustration with the Crows? Her frustration with Batwoman? Something else?

Kate was torn. She had returned to the bar intending to say goodbye, and had advised Luke as much. But Sophie - she was here. She was  _ asking _ Kate to stay. The truth was she spent only a split-second contemplating before folding, “Fine, but let me make a quick call.”

Mary took that as a sign to order another round, and over the next hour, the trio recalled stories of each other:

“He was so embarrassed!” Mary accused.

“And you just left him there?” Sophie asked, her mouth and eyes opened wide bouncing between Mary laughing and Kate dismissively excusing the event.

“He grabbed Mary’s ass, and needed a lesson in not objectifying someone. It’s so 20th Century. You aren’t allowed to treat any woman like that,  _ especially _ not my sister,” Kate reasoned. She shot back the rest of her whisky and gestured if either wanted a top-up. Seeing no immediate response, she left her stool and missed Mary’s reaction.

“She’s never called me that before.”

“What, your name?” Sophie replied, half-joking, half-confused.

“Her sister,” she said, tears threatening the edges of her eyes.

Sophie stared, clearly caught off guard at Mary’s admission. Moments later Kate returned with a bottle of whisky in tow, “I was saving this for a special occasion but,” she began, addressing both Sophie and Mary, “this feels like as good a night as an-” but Kate was cut off after a shove against her back threw her off balance. She quickly recovered and turned to see a girl collapsed on the ground, barely conscious. Mary was immediately at her side, checking her breathing and pulse. Kate glanced around, “is anyone with her?” Kate asked the surrounding crowd.

“He was,” came a voice. The voice’s finger pointed at a man staring sheepishly at the scene who proceeded to shrug his shoulders ambiguously.

Kate turned to him, “What happened?”

“What can I say, the lady can’t hold her liquor.”

Kate’s eyes narrowed as she spotted a glass on the cocktail table next to them.  _ Martinis aren’t cloudy _ , Kate observed. She redirected her gaze at the man, “You think this is funny?” Kate asked, advancing toward him. His dismissiveness quickly turned defensive and aggressive.

“Look lady, I don’t know who you are, but you have no evidence of nothin’,” he began shouting.

“So when the cops arrive - because believe me, they're on their way - and they search you, you’re telling me they won’t find any evidence or nothin?,” Kate mocked, closing into the man’s personal space. She was bluffing, but only half-way. She had established a policy at the bar to take all types of perceived harassment seriously and hoped the staff had reacted appropriately. 

The man laughed mockingly at Kate, “Look at this chic,” he announced to the gathering crowd. “Thinks she owns the place. And who do you think the GCPD is going to believe? Me or a mouthy little bitch like you?"

"I  _ do _ own this place, and your kind aren't welcome here," Kate said matter of factly. The man's posture adjusted slightly as he glanced around at the looks of support for Kate from the group.

In that moment red and blue lights flashed into the bar, and the man's face contorted into the realization he had no allies in the room. Kate saw him flinch, and before even he seemed to realise his plan to bolt, she deftly knocked him to the ground, pinning him with ease as the GCPD entered the bar.

Sophie observed the scene with awe. Mary's instinct to provide medical assistance and Kate's ability to confront and secure the threat in a moment's notice astonished her.  _ They should be the Crows. _

* * *

Mary left in the ambulance with the victim, leaving Kate and Sophie behind. Kate had provided the cops with a run down of the events, and a number of witnesses stayed to corroborate the story. Meanwhile, nearly everyone else had taken the disruption as a sign to part, making the bar empty within minutes. 

"Well, so much for a raucous night out," Kate joked, making her way over to Sophie.

"Kate, that - what you and Mary did just now… that was amazing."

Kate waved it off. To her, it was nothing - especially given the circumstances elsewhere in Gotham tonight.

"I'm serious. You two made a great team. Can you imagine what the Crows could be with  _ that _ as leadership? We'd be unstoppable," Sophie exclaimed.

"Mmm," Kate responded dismissively, but silently contemplated her words. Working with Mary had been ideal. She was brilliant, reliable, and completely trustworthy. Her capacity to react effectively had been made evident on countless occasions - none clearer than when she saved Sophie's life a few months earlier.

“That does make it the second time in a row Mary has abandoned me here, though.”

"Another?" Kate asked, snagging the bottle she had left on the table.

"Actually, I should probably get going," Sophie said, beginning to rise from the table and collect her things?

"But it's not even a school night," Kate countered. "And besides, I've got your favorite," she said, walking over to the bar and retrieving a bottle of scotch.

"Hmmm," Sophie contemplated more seriously. The biting of her lip in indecision caused Kate to melt slightly.

"Sounds like a yes to me," Kate said, grabbing a glass and pouring a serving. "How about this - you're practically unemployed now and couldn't possibly afford to pay your tab, so if you stay and help me close, I'll comp your bill  _ and _ let you keep drinking - on the house."

"How about I pay my tab as is, and the house pays for my closing drinks."

"You drive a hard bargain, Soph. But you've got yourself a deal," Kate said, handing Sophie the glass. "Now, if you don't mind, the bathrooms need some attention…"

Sophie stared at Kate, “You aren’t serious…”

Kate laughed, “No, we have a guy come in the morning to do that. You’re on dish duty.”


	4. Chapter 4

Two broken glasses and nearly an hour later, the two were wrapping up. Kate had sent the bartender and barback home early, and, after Kate promised they’d still be paid their full wages, accepted without resistance. 

“You’ve really turned this into something, Kate,” Sophie said, wandering to the jukebox in the corner. She plugged it in and dropped a quarter into the slot, navigating through the list.

“Thanks, it’s been a good start,” Kate called from the bar where she was supposed to be shelving the remaining glassware but instead found herself distracted by Sophie for what felt like the umpteenth time that night. Kate stopped blaming it on the dress Sophie was wearing - she could have chosen a burlap sack for the night out and still unravel Kate.

“Your jukebox ate my quarter,” she called out. “Is this broken?”

“No, it’s not broken. It’ll play any song you want as long as it’s ‘Purple Rain’.”

“Of course,” Sophie chuckled before turning away from the box. She slid down the wall and sat on the ground next to the glowing lights emanating from it. She stared at Kate across the space, "Hey, real talk for like, two minutes."

"Anything," Kate responded, pouring another finger of whisky from the bar.

"Why did you really come back?”

A silence lingered between the two as Kate recorked the bottle, so Sophie continued, “You left the Academy and I didn't hear from you for four years. Now you’ve returned as," Sophie waved her hand in the air, "a club owner dash real estate investor dash whatever."

"It's technically just a bar. A club has a whole different set of licensing and approval requirements," Kate added matter of factly, walking toward Sophie. Kate knew she was stalling - she wasn't exactly prepared to answer the question truthfully. Was it flattering to tell an ex you came back because she was abducted or creepy? Especially after years of not speaking. On top of all that, the ex was  _ married _ . While the latter was no longer an issue, it all seemed like a cloud of irrational embarrassment at this point. And it’s not like her swooping in had saved Sophie - at least not to Sophie’s memory. That was Batwoman.

Sophie rolled her eyes dismissively, "But you get what I mean. For three years all you could talk about at the Academy was your dream of becoming a Crow - of following in your Dad’s footsteps. You then spent four years after that training around the world and now you’ve just, suddenly given that up?” Sophie asked, her brow furrowing as she wrangled with Kate’s decisions. “Like, why now? Why not come back sooner if it wasn’t what you wanted anymore?”

_ Because you weren't in danger before  _ Kate thought to herself. 

Sophie continued, emboldened by an evening bourbon and taking advantage of Kate’s ongoing silence, “I know Jacob offered you a position. So either you already knew you’d say no, or something changed when you got back."

Sophie was fishing. She heard enough from Mary to know Kate's return wasn't entirely coincidental. She knew Mary had called Kate the night she went missing. What Sophie didn't understand was why it brought her back.  _ Four years was a long time to forget someone  _ she thought before reversing the criticism on herself:  _ That’s a bit hypocritical, don’t you think? If that was true  _ you  _ wouldn’t still be thinking about her either _ , she chastised.

“That’s easy,” Kate finally replied coolly, swirling the liquid in her glass around as she continued, “I couldn’t imagine working for my Dad. The Crows aren’t what I remember. Maybe they were always like this and I’m finally really seeing the raw, unromanticized truth for the first time, but all of this - this… they literally destroyed buildings and lives tonight. I don’t want that. That’s not what I spent years training to do.” Kate wasn’t lying exactly. In fact, the honesty of her answer surprised her. The aspirations of being a Crow came from a child’s dream of helping Gotham - fighting the crime Batman failed to act on. But now? Her entire perspective had flipped: the Crows weren’t for the people of Gotham, they were for their bank accounts. Batman was the people’s real hero.

“But why return now?” Sophie pressed as Kate sat down beside her.

“Also easy: I heard you’d been kidnapped and figured they’d be looking for a replacement,” Kate teased. 

Sophie rolled her eyes and swatted her hand dismissively toward Kate, “You’re an ass, you know?”

Kate laughed into her glass as she took another sip, “Well what about you? You’ve been a Crow for years. Why get suspended now?”

Sophie laughed, “Honestly? It’s been a long time coming.”

“Oh-ho, say more Ms. Moore.”

“Jacob and I haven't exactly been ‘best buds’ for at least a few months now. If I had to guess, I think he’s struggled persuading the board to demote their number two in command, but last night’s code of conduct infraction was the straw that broke the camel’s back.”

“So why stay? If it’s been bad for that long, I mean.”

“And do what? Join the GCPD? This is the only way I know to try making some sort of difference to the city. Unless you think Batwoman is taking  résumés  for a sidekick.”

Kate nodded thoughtfully. She’d always known Sophie to be caring - it was one of the reasons Kate had initially been so attracted to her at the Academy. She balanced out Kate’s bull-headed, reactive qualities with a more contemplative attitude. She wasn’t quick to anger like Kate, but it meant she would also quietly suffer through things on her own. Sophie lasting as a Crow for as long as she did while Kate couldn’t stomach one day with them was only the most recent example of that.

“I told my mom,” Sophie offered, unprompted. She was staring into her glass as she said it.

“That you were suspended?”

“No,” Sophie replied. “She was in town last week.” 

Kate immediately understood.

“How did she take it?”

“As expected. She promptly left.”

“Soph, I’m sor-”

“Don’t,” Sophie said quietly, cutting Kate off. Her eyes glistened in the dim lighting and Kate struggled not to do everything to comfort her. Sophie coming out was the single biggest obstacle in her life, and Kate knew that. Kate had spent years frustrated that they had to keep their relationship secret - that Sophie somehow felt ashamed for her feelings for Kate, and now, Sophie was taking steps.

“After everything with us, and now Tyler… it was time.” A tear betrayed Sophie and she quickly wiped it away.

“Want me to go beat her up?” Kate offered jokingly.

Sophie chuckled softly, “Thanks, but no. I’m sure my dad would have something to say to that,” she added to the joke.

“Oh, well I can beat him up, too, if he’s feeling left out,” Kate laughed in response. They both knew Kate could never beat Sophie’s dad - he was a 6’-6” former college football player who had spent his life protecting his family. He was the last man Kate imagined ever crossing. When the two settled, Kate turned to Sophie, “I’m proud of you, Soph. I get what that would have been for you, and I couldn’t be happier. It’ll all work out. Soon enough your mom will come around, and you’ll spend half your time keeping women at bay.”

“Ha, not so fast,” Sophie said.

“I told you about when I came out to Grandma Kane, right?” Kate asked. After a moment of thought, Sophie shook her head no. “She almost sent me to a camp.”

“No way. Sweet old Grandma Kane? But she was always having us over!”

“Yep. She threatened stripping me of my inheritance unless I went.”

“How old were you?”

“Ten?” Kate offered, trying to remember.

“But you didn’t go, right?”

Kate laughed, “Not a chance. I told her to keep the money, and she wrote me out of the will. She was furious for months - wouldn’t talk to me or dad no matter how many times we reached out,” she continued. “But then, we stopped reaching out to her, and Christmas came and went, and it was right around Valentine’s Day she called asking me over for dinner.” Kate paused, chuckling as she got lost in the memory, “ _ She _ even made dinner. She never cooked a day in her life. It was just blue box, but that didn’t matter. The point was that she wasn’t putting on an act - she gave the kitchen staff the night off, and we made such a mess of it.”

Kate turned to Sophie, locking eyes with her, “What I’m trying to say is, even my status-driven grandma could find it in her to change her view because her love for me outweighed her beliefs. I mean, how many times did you and I spend the weekend with her? That’ll be your mom. She is a brilliant woman and a fair bit like her daughter. She’ll come around - it may take a while, but it’ll happen.”

Sophie stared back at Kate. She had always assumed Kate’s story of coming out was easy - that she didn’t deal with any backlash from her family. She had no idea Kate’s grandmother had reacted so fiercely; Kate had never let on that a fissure had once existed in between her and Grandma Kane in all the times they had spent together. There was only unconditional affection and admiration for each other. Sophie filed away Kate’s story, secretly hoping for the same fortune with her mom.

“So why did you do it? I mean, what changed?” Kate asked after a minute.

Sophie smiled nervously in response. She didn’t quite know how to answer Kate.

“What is it?” Kate asked, genuinely curious.

“Well… it was, it was actually Batwoman” Sophie started cautiously.

Kate stared at her genuinely confused.  _ Batwoman? Three years together and nothing, but one kiss on a rooftop with Batwoman and  _ boom _ she’s out? _ “How do you mean?” Kate pressed, forcing herself to keep her voice neutral.

“This is going to sound absolutely nutter, but, we sort had a moment a week ago an-”

“A moment?” Kate asked, a tightness in her gut growing as she absorbed Sophie’s blushing tone. She didn’t know if she wanted to hear this from Sophie.

“I kind of… I kissed Batwoman,” she admitted, avoiding Kate’s eyes in embarrassment.

“What? You’re joking,” Kate reacted. This was not something she expected Sophie to admit - especially not to her - and a slight wave of jealousy cut through her as she realised Sophie’s want to come out was because of someone else in her life.  _ But you were the other woman, remember?  _ She stifled her reaction and feigned surprise, “So, then what?”

“Nothing else happened,” she added quickly.

Kate fake laughed, “Oh, right, sure; so, you and Batwoman. Is this a thing? Sophie Moore is off the market less than a week after entering it? This is why you’re out now?” Kate could feel her line of questioning and tone toe the line.  _ Don’t be the jealous ex _ , she said to herself, but it wasn’t easy. This was Sophie introducing the idea of another woman to Kate - even if that other woman was still Kate.

“No, no, it’s,” Sophie stared off, as though trying to put it into words for the first time. “No,” she said more forcefully this time, “it’s not like that. It was just that once.”

“Until the next time,” Kate teased on the surface, but felt her defenses going up in the process.  _ You were there, remember? Remember, Kane? You ended it. There isn’t a next time. _ Kate stressed to herself.  _ You know nothing is going on between Sophie and Batwoman, so calm down. _

“No. There isn’t a next time,” Sophie said, voicing Kate’s own words out loud, “and what I meant about it  _ being  _ Batwoman wasn’t about it  _ being _ Batwoman. It’s about what came after all of it.”

Kate stared at Sophie but remained silent, waiting for her to continue.

“I realised Batwoman wears a mask to protect herself - to protect others. And for her, it makes sense, right? Like, she is literally the face putting Gotham crime behind bars. But I also see that because she lives this life, she’ll never be happy. Until she takes off the mask, she’ll be Batwoman when she’s fighting crime, but what is her life beyond that? It’s all an act,” Sophie said. “And I guess… I guess I just realised it was time to take off my own mask and be happy for once.”

This was not at all what Kate expected to hear. A story about a crush, maybe, but the psychoanalysis of a vigilante and the metaphorical application to Sophie’s life? Not a chance.

“So, you’re telling me…” Kate began, struggling to find words an oblivious person might say, “You’re saying, you  _ kissed _ Batwoman… had a moment… and after all of that, you realised you weren’t happy because Batwoman wears a mask? Is - is that what you mean?”

“What? No, no, I just mean… I’m probably not making any sense. You should have been there though, Kate. She was talking about needing to wear a mask so she could protect those she loved, and that, as Batwoman, she couldn’t be in a relationship, and after all of that, I realised what’s been holding me back is that I live like that. I can’t wear a mask to keep my parents happy - or anyone happy. Does that make any sense at all?”

“Yea, that actually makes a lot of sense,” Kate mused, and after a moment: “So, was she a good kisser?”

“Do you actually want to know?” Sophie asked, noting Kate’s jealous tone. 

“Well, I mean, if Batwoman is out kissing all the most eligible bachelorettes in town, I want to see how much competition she is.”

“Mmmm, so it’s research,” Sophie nodded skeptically. 

“See? You get it.”

“You’re still a terrible liar,” Sophie said matter-of-factly, batting Kate on the arm. Kate scoffed in surprise. “Oh come on Kate. That thing you do? Where joke to hide a lie or misdirect? Classic Kate Kane. You cannot fool me.”

Kate rolled her eyes,  _ if only you knew _ .

“But if you must know, she’s definitely top-2 territory,” Sophie said, “so, I’d watch out.”

Kate laughed, “well, with your illustrious history with women, Batwoman has been bestowed a high honor.”

“It’s a tough tier to crack into,” Sophie said, “I should probably tell number two she’s recently been dethroned…”

Sophie laughed at Kate’s look of shock. “Me? Second?! You only think that because time has eroded your memory,” Kate quickly recovered. 

“My memory is just fine, Kate,” Sophie countered with a side-eyed glance before breaking into laughter. 

_ Does Sophie know she’s flirting?  _ Kate wondered as she stared into Sophie's eyes - bright and warm. Kate realized there was almost a whole new depth to them. She imagined it was brought on by Sophie telling her mom. Kate recalled the days she'd spent getting lost in them at the Academy and suddenly the experience felt tenfold. There was a pang of regret that their time together hadn’t included this change in Sophie, because it may have all ended differently.  _ Or not ended _ . Kate watched Sophie’s smile at their conversation, and she found her eyes lingering on Sophie’s lips a moment too long. She was struck by the memory of kissing them on the rooftop a week ago. That instance was far too short for Kate’s liking. A warmth filled her as she recalled the feeling again, and she wondered if Sophie had thought about it since - the fullness of Sophie's lips on hers, hands running down her body, grabbing at her, desperately trying to get closer...

"I… we- we should get out of here," Kate said, interrupting her own thoughts. "It's late - you should get home."

“Oh, uh, right - sure,” Sophie responded, caught off guard by Kate’s sudden transition. Kate stood quickly and walked her glass over to the bar. “This was - it was nice to catch up,” Sophie said, trying to break the weird vibe that had just hijacked the night’s mood.

“Yea,” said Kate distractedly.  _ You're a gnat _ , Kate accused herself,  _ why are you fighting this? You’re having fun _ .

“Right well I-”

“Although, I’ve been meaning to ask -- oh, no, sorry, you go,” Kate conceded, rolling over on her split second of courage.

“Oh, no, it was nothing. What’d you want to ask?” Sophie pressed. 

“Oh, uhm, just - I was just wondering if you knew how you were going to get home tonight?”  _ You are pathetic  _ Kate chastised herself _. _

“Oh, I -”

“Because I’ve got my bike,” Kate said, “and could give you a lift - if you needed it, I mean.”  _ Good recovery, Kane _ , she mentally applauded herself.

“Oh!” Sophie replied, clearly taken aback. “But you’ve been drinking all night, Kate.”

“Nah, I switched to kombucha before Mary left. The staff keeps it in a whisky common bottle behind the bar.”

“Oh, that’s clever,” Sophie said,  _ except I’ve been blabbing my tipsy mouth off like a fool for the last hour to a sober Kate Kane _ . “I had planned on just grabbing a taxi… but if - if it’s not too much trouble, a ride would be - that’d be great.” Sophie stammered out in response, and was privately kicking herself for not seeming cooler about it. Throwing caution to the wind, Sophie realized she wasn’t ready for the night to end. 

She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt this relaxed. Maybe being on suspension was going to do her some good. It didn’t hurt that Kate made it feel like she had been transported back four years to when being carefree was something she flirted with.

“Great,” Kate half choked through her enthusiasm and gut-wrenching nerves.  _ Sophie is going to be on your bike _ , she thought.  _ And you sound like a teen with a crush. _

It took only a few minutes to lock up the bar. Sophie lingered as Kate made the rounds, and she felt her stomach flutter with butterflies in anticipation. She couldn’t count the number of times she’d been on a motorcycle with Kate. They had used it to leave campus at least weekly to get some privacy, so this was nothing new, but Sophie’s mind was reeling with anticipation.  _ This is just a ride home _ , she tried convincing herself,  _ this isn’t anything more than that, Moore. Pull yourself together. _

“All set,” Kate said, swapping the bar keys into her pocket as she pulled out the bike’s keys before tossing Sophie a helmet. “Sorry, you get the dinky helmet,” she said with a smirk. 

“I see that hasn’t changed.”

Kate watched Sophie put on the dopey little helmet. Having a second rider was such an uncommon occurrence that Kate never bothered to upgrade the second helmet, but as she saw Sophie strap it on, she remembered how adorable she wore it. She shook herself and approached the bike, “You remember how to ride a -”

“Ride a bike? Yea, Kate. It’s not rocket science.”

Kate was trying desperately to keep it cool. She had stalled in the bar locking up - rechecking the locks twice before leaving the space. She climbed onto the bike, suddenly aware of how close Sophie would be to her in mere moments. She turned back toward Sophie just as she climbed on the back, and the weight of the bike shifted. Sophie’s thighs rested against Kate’s lower back, and she felt a warmth against her back. Kate couldn’t remember the last time they’d been this close - the rooftop kiss was one instance, but the batsuit wasn’t the most intimate of materials.

“Uh-uhm, all - all good?” Kate asked dumbly.  _ The only way to make this ‘all good’ is to take you back into the bar and kis- _

“Yea.”

“Great,” Kate choked out before starting the bike. She felt Sophie’s hands find her waist and Kate felt herself exhale sharply.  _ Be chill, Kane _ , Kate muttered to herself before shifting into gear and pulling out of the alley into the street.

* * *

Less than fifteen minutes later, Kate was slowing down in front of Sophie’s apartment building. Sophie had spent the entire ride wishing it would never end: the rush of the crisp night air and the contrasting warmth of Kate against her. There was an ease with which Kate rode a motorcycle, and in the midst of it all, Sophie didn’t realize she had slowly slipped her hands around Kate’s torso, pulling them closer together. Upon slowing, she noticed and quickly recoiled them back to a more platonic spot on Kate’s waist.

Sophie begrudgingly prepared to dismount the bike as Kate brought it to a halt. She realised by the continued hum of the engine that Kate wasn’t planning to linger. A second wave of disappointment swept over Sophie as she adjusted herself to leave. She leaned into Kate, grabbing her waist to steady herself as she stepped off the bike. She felt Kate tense slightly at Sophie’s touch and suddenly hoped it wasn’t too obvious a gesture.

“Want to come up for a nightcap?” Sophie offered.  _ You really shouldn't have done that,  _ she immediately regretted. This wasn't a drunken fling or a casual hook up. This was  _ Kate _ .

"It's pretty late, Soph," Kate began, fending off her impulses to jump at the opportunity. Kate had spent the entire ride weighing her options about Sophie. She'd spent all night trying to explain away her feelings for Sophie as purely nostalgic, but their time at the bar only solidified how Sophie was still the beautiful, charming, caring person she'd been in love with for years. That made what Kate knew she had to do so hard. Sophie deserved someone who could be committed and reliable, and Kate realised that to be that meant living a life without Batwoman.

Luke's words rang through her ears about Bruce's constant struggle with his life beyond the mask. Kate was only now just realizing the pain that could bring.

Kate looked at Sophie standing in front of her - her hair a mess from the helmet, wearing that simple, perfectly form-fitting black dress. Kate had spent years falling in love with her and even more years being in love with her. She was absolutely perfect.

Kate cut the engine, "That'd be great. As long as you have La-"

"Lagavulin? 'Course," Sophie responded with a knowing glimmer in her eye.

* * *

"Well, this is it," Sophie said, flipping on the lights as she entered the apartment.

Kate trailed closely behind her, pretending like she’d never seen the space before. To be fair, she hadn’t - her one and only other visit here had been limited to the terrace, but she had seen enough through the windows to get a sense for the layout.

Sophie walked into the kitchen, and the sound of clinking glassware meant she was portioning out the next round. Kate took in the space more properly: the flat was a modest, open-planned unit. The entrance brought you directly into the main living space. To the right was the kitchen, half-concealed from the entrance by a partial wall, but it opened up and an island united it with a small dining space just beyond that. A line of floor-to-ceiling glass ran along the edge of the apartment, and Kate quickly identified the terrace just beyond. She also noted wooden doors: one presumably to the bathroom, and the other, more importantly, to the bedroom.

“How did you know where I lived?” Sophie asked suddenly from the kitchen. She re-entered carrying two glasses of slightly differing brown liquids. 

Kate paused, realizing she only knew because Batwoman knew. “You told me, no? Back at the bar.”

Sophie stared back at Kate skeptically. Her eyes were narrowed trying to recall the instance, “Are you sure?”

Kate forced a laugh, “Yea Soph, maybe you  _ shouldn’t _ have that nightcap.”

“Honestly, I don’t remember,” she responded, offering Kate her glass, “but I also don’t remember the last time we’d been alone together this long without fooling around, so,” she said, raising her glass, “here’s to that.”

_ This is going to end so badly, _ Kate thought to herself.


	5. Chapter 5

“Where are you, Kate? This is Luke…  _ again _ . Give me a call when you get this.”

Kate tossed her phone aside. It was the fifth voicemail from Luke that morning. She was supposed to have been at Wayne Tower by 8am. That was three hours ago. Kate rolled over in bed and shoved her face into a pillow. She was trying to block out the midday sun breaking between the shades, but images of the night before kept flashing like a bad dream in front of her.

It had all been going so well, until she agreed to go up to Sophie’s place. That wasn’t supposed to happen, and now she was living with the consequences of it. The look on Sophie’s face would be cemented in her memory for eternity: confusion, hurt, rejection.

Kate forced herself up as her phone rang for the twenty-zillionth time that morning. She ran her hands over the blankets until it rested on the cool metal of it.  _ Of course, _ she thought before answering, “Hey Luke, I-”

“You’re alive!” Luke exclaimed. His relief was palpable through the phone. “What happened? Where are you? Are you ok?”

Kate wasn’t sure what she expected from Luke, but it definitely wasn’t this. “I-I’m fine. I’m sorry, I was - it was - it’s nothing. I’ll be there in an hour.”

Luke’s response was delayed by a long pause, “Kate, is everything ok?”

Kate pressed her fingers to her eyes, forcing the quiver in her voice down, “Of course. Again, sorry for worrying you - I’ll be there soon.”

She dropped her phone to the mattress and wiped away the tears that had slipped out.  _ Get it together, Kane. This isn’t the time for girly heartbreaks _ , she reprimanded herself.

* * *

Luke had spent the morning tracking their latest most-wanted: a young female who had a history of marking her victims with facial cuts. After a deep dive into the GCPD case database, he was able to determine her recent rendezvous with Nocturna had not been the first time she'd made her mark on Gotham.

He was able to trace five other instances from three years prior to her modus operandi, and that was where he discovered her identity: Duela Dent. 

Her case file was otherwise blemish free. Duela had been a star student both academically and within the community. It was after a nervous breakdown at sixteen that anyone saw a deterioration in her performance. The self-imposed stress over her need to succeed had caused her to regress to a shell of herself. Her image in the community and her friendships degraded and ultimately severed. Court proceedings shed light on the first attacks. Of the five, four were former classmates and fifth was Duela herself. Although Duela didn't take the stand, a psychologist weighed in of the attacks stating:

"Ms. Dent's behavior lacked the moral judgement of a mentally healthy teenager. Next to academic achievements, Ms. Dent perceived perfection as a physical characteristic. When she was unable to maintain her status of academic perfection, she sought physical perfection, not by achieving it for herself, but, if you'll excuse my language, by  _ carving _ it from others. In that way, for Ms. Dent, perfection could be achieved by no one. It became a metaphor for her own academic shortcomings."

His analysis concluded Duela was capable of recovery, but risk of additional self harm without proper treatment would make her a risk to a traditional detention center. With this in mind, the judge ordered her to ten years at Arkham to undergo psychiatric treatment under the guidance of a Dr. Randolph Butler.

Seven years were trimmed off this sentence undoubtedly through bribery and political sway. With a name like Dent, Luke was surprised she'd spent any time in Arkham at all. That was how Gotham worked these days, Luke shuddered. Anyone could be a detriment to society and maintain immunity with a name.

* * *

"So Duela mysteriously gets released from Arkham with no public fanfare, and within two weeks she finds an ally in Nocturna, aids and abets killing three people, captures a fourth with the intention to kill, and, if that wasn't enough, betrays Nocturna and gets her killed in the process," Kate summarised with disbelief after reviewing the materials Luke had gathered. 

She had arrived shortly after Luke's conversation with her, and Luke couldn't help but notice how terrible she looked. 

"Did you even sleep?" Luke asked, interrupting their discussions around Duela. He eyed the shadows under her eyes and her gaunt expression with skepticism. "Because, and, don't take this the wrong way, you look like death."

"Sometimes I wonder why you're still single," Kate shot back. Seeing the unwavering concern on Luke's face, she added, "I'm fine. Honestly. I just have one of those faces that looks worse when rested. My natural beauty thrives on sleep deprivation."

Luke smirked at this, "I don't believe you,  _ and _ I will drop it... for now. But Kate, I'm a bit worried about you. I know you don’t want to hear that, but we’re sort of stuck together as long as this Batwoman thing keeps going, so I need you well."

"Heard,” Kate responded with a lighthearted dismissiveness. She understood where Luke was coming from - if the roles were reversed she’d be pressing him the same way, but this wasn’t something she was ready to discuss with him. She wasn’t sure if she ever would be, but now certainly wasn’t it. “Now can we get back to Duela?"

Luke nodded begrudgingly before returning his attention to the case file.

"Do we know anything about her treatment, who she was involved with inside Arkham, or who handled her case from GCPD?”

“I can’t tell you about her time at Arkham - their database is secure and seemingly impenetrable. It would take someone with some serious skills to access that.”

“And we can’t exactly knock on the front door…”

“But here’s the kicker - this case wasn’t handled by GCPD. The Crows delivered Duela to the courts.”

“You’re kidding,” Kate responded with surprise. “Although with the name ‘Dent’ I’m sure the politically-minded wanted it kept under wraps. Is anyone from the case still active with the Crows? Maybe if they’ve left we can get them to talk. We could get a better understanding of her habits.”

“Good question,” Luke said, pulling up the relevant public filing documents. “Ready for another kicker?”

“Always,” Kate responded sarcastically.

“Lead Crow was one Mr. Jacob Kane; Second Crow? The one and only  _ Ms. Sophie Moore _ .”

Kate sat back, her mouth agape with surprise.

“This is great - you can go ask her about it.”

Kate stared ahead in thought, her mind reeling.  _ Sophie. I am the last person she wants to see _ , she thought, thinking back to the night before.  _ No,  _ Kate _ is the last person she wants to see. Batwoman might have a chance _ , she corrected.

“Kate?”

“What?”

“I said, you should go ask her about this. She could help us track her.”

“Right,” Kate said, still losing herself in the night prior’s events: at the bar with Mary, closing down the bar, the jukebox, Sophie's suspension... “ _ unless you think Batwoman is taking  _ _ résumés  _ _ for a sidekick” _

Suddenly her phone rang. She looked down and saw it was from an unknown caller, but she took the opportunity to excuse herself from the conversation about Sophie. She promptly got up, giving Luke a 'this'll just take a second gesture.'

Luke watched her walk into the hall with concern. He’d spent enough time with her to know when she was distracted, and whatever this distraction was, it was coming at the wrong time. He also knew pressing the issue with her was the best way to guarantee she would never open up about it. He realized in moments like this he didn’t know who to reach out to.  _ Would Kate open up to Mary? Or Sophie? _ There was only so much he could provide in situations like this, and a big part of it was Kate's want to avoid vulnerability. He lifted his phone and searched his contacts for Mary's number -  _ she'll know what to do _ , Luke thought, but before he could press 'call's Kate returned and pulled him from his thoughts.

"Good news?" Luke asked, setting his phone aside.

"I think I have an idea," Kate said with a small grin.

* * *

Batwoman propelled onto the familiar terrace. The interior was lit but there was no sign of movement inside. If she had been told this morning she'd be back at this apartment building tonight, she'd have never gone to Wayne Tower, but here she was. She would have preferred two weeks shipwrecked alone on an island to this. She took in a breath of crisp evening air and forced the fresh memories of Sophie's teary gaze turn angry down. 

_ Why does this terrace always see me at my weakest?  _ Kate wondered. There was probably some symbolism there, but Kate was in no mood to analyze it. She needed Sophie on board with the plan, but while Batwoman had no reason to be worried about Sophie, Kate did. The night before lingered heavily on Kate's mind, and she hoped the Sophie Batwoman talked to tonight wouldn't let that sway her better judgments.

“You know, if you keep showing up like this, someone’s bound to see and it’s not going to matter that your little mask is on or that we aren’t actually hooking up,” Sophie said, stepping out onto the terrace catching Batwoman off guard. “People will still draw conclusions.”

“Right, sorry.”

“So what, you don't have time to take on Gotham's worst, but you've got time to make house calls?" Sophie accused.

"What? No, I - that's not what happened -"

"Then where were you last night when everything went down? Take the night off or are you just that keen on watching the Crows fail?” Sophie accused.

“I should ask you the same,” Kate retorted with more bite than intended, and she immediately regretted her words. Sophie looked like she had been slapped across the face. “I’m sorry. I know you couldn’t have been there. Ple-”

“How do you know I couldn’t have been there?” Sophie continued, her arms crossed in front of her. Sophie’s eyes were narrowed and cold - nothing like the warmth they held a day earlier. Kate knew this Sophie: she was hurting, and her way of dealing was with an offensive approach that included cold aggression. Kate had experienced this version of Sophie less than a handful of times, and she had learned in time that the best solution was not to argue with her. Instead, her approach was to remain passive until Sophie had let all the aggression out. That wouldn’t work if she slipped up in her remarks.

Kate took a slow breath: “I heard you’d been suspended. That’s not the point though - my comment was out of line.” Kate stared at Sophie’s unchanging look, “Can we pretend I never said that? I didn’t come here to fight with you,” Kate pleaded. “I came here because what happened last night can’t happen again, and I need your help.”

Her words were in reference to the Crows incident, but she also saw their correlation to her and Sophie.

“If you’d heard I was suspended, then you'd know I can’t do anything to help you,” Sophie responded, her tone no more friendly. "So if you don't mind, get the hell off my terrace." 

Sophie motioned to return inside when Kate continued quickly: “I think we have a way around that, but it will take a day or two.”

“A way around what, exactly?” Sophie asked. Sophie was hurt and outraged, and Batwoman being the first person she'd come face to face with all day meant she was getting the brute force of Sophie's bottled up frustrations.

"I think there's a way to get you off suspension. I just need you to trust me," Batwoman offered in response.

_ Trust you? _ Sophie spat in her mind. Here stood Batwoman, cloaked in her mask and cape and secrets, and she expected Sophie's blind trust. 

Her last week had been nothing but reason to never trust: Sophie's trust in the Crows had eroded with their latest antics and lies; her trust in Jacob had all but disappeared when he went over both their heads to get her suspended; and then there was Kate. Kate, who Sophie once trusted enough with her heart. Kate, who Sophie once swore was the most genuine person she'd ever met. Kate, who less than a day ago, had taken Sophie's trust and vulnerability and turned on a dime.

Sophie was done with the two-faced actions, and she wasn’t going to let Batwoman now use her as a pawn in some master plan. "Trust isn't something I can give you. If you expect me to help you, I expect honesty and answers from you. That means you fill me in on everything.”

“Everything?” Kate asked, a wave of hesitation running through her.

“Is that a problem?”

Kate floundered. This wasn't an ultimatum she came prepared to face. To share  _ everything _ meant inviting her into a different world - one where Luke's identity would be revealed, one where the slightest slip could make Sophie an active target, one where her judgement and actions could be clouded from knowing Batwoman's identity.

Finally, after a moment she replied simply, "Yes, it is."

Sophie was unphased by this response. She had expected Batwoman to say ‘no’, and she was struggling to fight against the voice in her head to walk away. She knew her request was unreasonable - Batwoman had established her unwillingness to compromise her identity before.

"Instead, I can offer this," Kate said, looking to negotiate. Without Sophie's involvement, Kate didn't know how they'd gather the necessary intel. "I'll share as much as I can, but I won't compromise the identities of anyone involved."

Sophie eyed Batwoman critically, weighing her words. It felt unfair to Sophie that she was left in the dark, but what she also heard was that she could rely on Batwoman to protect Sophie's identity if push came to shove.

"Ok, let’s hear the plan then I’ll decide," she said after a minute.

Kate sighed in relief. _ Halfway there _ , she thought. 

"On Monday, the Crow's board of directors will meet to go over Gotham's temporary mandates while the Crows are under audit," Kate began. "One mandate is that Jacob step down as Lead Crow and an interim be chosen while the review is ongoing.  _ You _ will be nominated for that role and be in attendance at that meeting. I expect you'll get a call tomorrow about it."

"Wait, hold up," Sophie said, clearly taken aback by Batwoman's knowledge of the situation. "How do you know all of this?"

Kate hesitated at this, but explained, "I know someone on the board," Kate replied. "And before you ask," she cut in before Sophie could interrupt, "I'm not telling you the name. All you need to know is she's an ally working to flip votes in your favor."

_ She? _ Sophie clung onto the slip from Batwoman. There were only two women on the board of ten, and Sophie knew for a fact one of them, Margaret Cobblepot, had always been Jacob's ally. Her financial status and preferences for cases that catered to the high-profile made her and Jacob Kane a likely duo. This left the only other female: Mila Cantor. Sophie's impression was that she was a quiet, soft-spoken board member. On a few occasions Sophie had contemplated how she'd made it onto the board in the first place. With no previous experience in combat or law enforcement, and no evident lineage of wealth, this meant Cantor had little clout to wield over the other board members, and that made Sophie skeptical of Batwoman's plan.

“All right,” Sophie said, letting her cynicism carry into her tone, "let's say that happens. Then what? Jacob is cast aside and I'm, what, in charge of the Crows? I don't want to rain on this parade, but the board will  _ never _ go for that. They literally just voted to suspend me - it would take a miracle for this to happen."

"I trust it to happen, and  _ when _ it does, we can discuss next steps to take down Duela."

"Duela?" Sophie asked, caught off guard "Duela Dent?"

"You know her?" Kate asked, feigning surprised at Sophie's response.

"She was my first case as a Crow. She's locked up in Arkham for another… seven years? Why? Did something happen to her?"

"She was released two weeks ago."

"How? On whose authority?"

Kate relaxed slightly. There was the Sophie Moore Kate knew - the Sophie Moore that left no stone unturned and fought to protect others. “That’s exactly what I’m trying to figure out.”


	6. Chapter 6

The meeting was due to start at 8am, and Sophie walked into the board room a few minutes before that to orient herself to the space. She saw familiar faces already seated at the table, and privately wondered who, not a week earlier, had voted to suspend her. If Batwoman was right, these same people would be voting to give her leadership of the Crows. 

"Ah, Ms. Moore, welcome,” came a voice to Sophie’s right. She immediately recognized it.

"Good morning Mr. Duncan," Sophie said warmly, turning to respond to him. Alan Duncan was an ally - that much Sophie knew. She had gone against Jacob on many occasions in front of the board, and Duncan was always the first to side with Sophie's reasoning - they both had a contemplative attitude to big decisions. Unfortunately, that thinking was a majority among the board, and she took his welcome as nothing more than affirmation of what she already knew: getting votes in her favor were unlikely. The lines had been drawn long ago, and this was certainly an uphill battle. Sophie scanned the room for Ms. Cantor, but she was nowhere to be found. Sophie secretly hoped it was because she was making some last minute deal to ensure her promotion.

Sophie settled into a chair at the far end of the conference table. A minute later, she watched Ms. Cantor walk in alone, head down. She acknowledged no one directly and quietly found her seat. Sophie tried to make eye contact to get a sense of their chances, but Cantor remained focused on the notepad in front of her. Sophie’s stomach sank slightly. That didn’t look like a promising sign.

It was now a minute to eight, and Sophie surveyed the room. There were nine familiar faces all sitting in wait.  _ Nine, _ Sophie thought.  _ Who is missing? _ She recalled the last round of meetings she’d attended and couldn’t place the missing face. She rattled them off like Santa’s reindeer twice before she realised who was missing: Jacob Kane.

In addition to his role as lead Crow, he also held a position on the board as its founder. This always made fighting him that much harder: he played both sides well. But now, at this meeting, he was absent. Was he also stripped of his role on the board?

Everyone was settled and sitting quietly which left Sophie on edge.  _ Why is no one starting?  _ She thought, wondering if it was a power play to keep her on edge. Sophie was left in suspense another ten minutes when, nine minutes after the meeting was due to start, the doors opened and in walked an all too familiar face.

“Ah, welcome, Ms. Kane. I hope you found the space all right,” said standing to greet her Mr. Duncan.

Sophie sat stunned in her chair. She felt her stomach churn as she watched Kate Kane enter the room. She entered with an air of ambivalence that made Sophie’s temper flare. 

"Sorry, got lost for a minute. I hope you weren’t waiting on me,” Kate said casually, acknowledging Duncan. “Does here work?” she asked, pointing to the empty chair at the head of the conference table. She received nods of approval before settling in.

After another ten minutes of brief introductions with the newest board member, the meeting began. 

“Right, so, now that we’re all gathered, let’s discuss the pressing issues facing us following last week’s… er… events . As you’re all aware, Gotham City has elected to pursue a company-wide investigation of the Crow’s practices,” Duncan said, beginning the meeting. “We shall review the guidelines provided by the City and take the morning to determine the necessary steps forward. First, and arguably most important, is the Crow’s leadership.”

Sophie tried to hear Duncan’s words but her focus was on Kate who, to this point, had not acknowledged Sophie was in the room and, actually, seemed bored by the entire proceedings.

“And so if there are no objections to Sophie Moore stepping in as interim lea-”

“Actually, I have a few questions,” interjected a voice. Sophie looked up from her thoughts and realized the voice was Kate speaking. She gaped in confusion. “We’re here because of poor decision-making from within the Crow's leadership, no?”

A grumble of hesitant agreement rose from the board members.

“Am I missing something then? Why would we promote someone who the board has already reviewed and suspended for questionable action? I realize I’m coming into this with, like, zero background, but on paper, this seems like a terrible idea. We’re trying to save the Crows in the face of scrutiny, not accelerate its demise," Kate continued with a sharp, critical tone. Her demeanor had changed drastically from the casual vibe she’d walked in with. "So, why would we put our trust in a part of the very leadership that led to this situation in the first place?”

Silence emanated through the conference room at this. If Kate had looked at Sophie, she’d see nothing but anger and hatred emanating toward her, but Kate kept her eyes focused on the other nine in the room.

“Ms. Kane raises valid concerns. We are at a crossroads, and I am not sure handing the leadership over to Ms. Moore is so wise. I’ve spoken with many at this table privately, and we have doubts as well.” The comment came from Margaret Cobblepot. 

Unprompted, four other board members joined Cobblepot's remarks.

“So can we assume there is a consensus to reconsider Ms. Moore’s promotion,” said Kate.

Sophie sat stunned. This felt like a dream.  _ What is Kate doing? Margaret Cobblepot? Is she really aligning with  _ her _? They’re complete opposites. They should be at each other’s throats,  _ she thought, scanning the room and settling on Cantor, _ and why isn’t Cantor speaking up? _ She realized Cantor’s silence was probably because she knew she didn’t have the votes. Other than Kate, five had already voiced disapproval of Sophie. She suddenly felt her chances dwindle to nothing.

“If I may,” Duncan chimed in, “we are facing an unprecedented situation, Ms. Kane. While I respect your intentions, we could also argue that Ms. Moore has shown exemplary behavior as a Crow, and her recent suspension came out of questioning from the current leadership.”

“So you’re saying the city only passed down this judgment because of a single night of dysfunction  _ after  _ Ms. Moore's suspension was handed down?” Kate responded with a hint of sarcasm. She surveyed the room before continuing, “Look, there is evidence breaches in protocol have been ongoing for months if not years, and, if I’m not mistaken, Ms. Moore has been involved as part of leadership in every instance. We cannot in good faith maintain this. There is a symptomatic problem here."

"I agree again with Ms. Kane’s sentiments," came Cobblepot again, "Ms. Moore is unqualified and unfit to fill the exemplary role of Crow Leader - especially now that we’ll have the City reviewing every decision that comes out of its leadership."

Agreement emanated through the room. Duncan paled as he surveyed his peers, and Sophie was red with fury. This wasn't how the meeting was supposed to go. Cantor was supposed to whip together the votes, and here she sat, saying  _ nothing _ to defend Sophie. And who was Kate to swoop in and make claims like this? That Sophie was a symptom of the leadership's failures?

"So my proposal is this," Kate continued, "we grant Gotham's District Attorney discretion over who will lead the Crows during this pivotal moment."

A silence fell over the board following these words. Kate observed the nine board members. She could tell they were all grappling with this idea.

"Am I hearing correctly, that your proposal is to hand the leadership of this company over to the city?" Cobblepot interjected, clearly unprepared for Kate's suggestion.

"Well, it seems there is unanimous consent leadership from within the Crows is unacceptable, so it seems in our best interest to lean into Gotham for leadership."

"That is the dumbest proposition." The voice took everyone by surprise, including the person who it belonged to.

"Ms. Moore?" Duncan said, nodding at her to continue.

"The story  _ Ms. Kane _ has so eloquently woven suggests my leadership is incompetent and on par with the Crow's current trajectory. All of you at this table know my history with the Crows. I've spent the better part of a year disagreeing with Jacob on the Crow's leadership - it's why most of you voted to suspend me, no?"

Many at the table adjusted themselves out of discomfort at Sophie’s directness.

"You want this company to succeed? You want the Crows to  _ actually _ exist through the end of the year? Because it's not through leaning into the corrupt entity we're at odds with," Sophie continued, becoming more emboldened by the retreating looks on the board's faces. "I'm the best candidate for this position  _ because _ I was at such odds with Jacob. If you want to set an example, you hire the one person Jacob wanted out of leadership, and you pick me."

Sophie scanned the room, looking every board member in the eyes. She landed on Kate's last, and she felt a disgust and betrayal she didn't know she could feel for Kate. This was the woman who Sophie had placed on a pedestal for years, and in less than a week Kate had proven how undeserving she was of it.

"I move to vote on Ms. Moore's candidacy for Head Crow,” Duncan spoke now, taking the opportunity to use Sophie’s speech as momentum away from an alternate nominee. “Is there a second?"

Sophie stared at Kate, mentally daring her to challenge the move.

"Aye," came Mila Cantor from the sidelines.

"Lovely. It will be a private vote with simple majority rules. Ms. Moore, if you'd please wait in the hall."

* * *

Sophie was in the hall for no more than fifteen minutes when Duncan poked his head out with a grin. "You've got it! Eight to two"

Sophie was invited to return to the room for the remainder of the meeting which was two hours of far less dramatic items focused on the particulars surrounding an official audit. Sophie remained quiet, observing the conversations drone on. She made occasional glances at Kate and couldn't help but notice a sudden lack of interest on her part toward the meeting.

Soon after, the meeting was adjourned and the board members rose to part. Sophie lingered only a moment to accept congratulations before making her leave. She looked around and noticed Kate had already left. Sophie gathered her jacket and exited into the hall where she saw Kate's familiar silhouette walking away and toward the elevators.

“So that’s how it’s going to be, is it?” Sophie called to her, heated anger building inside. She felt a ringing in her ears as she watched Kate pause mid-stride.

Kate turned to look back at her. “Sorry?”

“In there - all of that -- that -” Sophie began, frustrated and unsure how to put her feelings of being backstabbed in front of the board into words.

“All of that what, exactly?” Kate responded, her face empty of emotion.

Sophie stared, completely lost for words.  _ Who are you right now? _ Sophie wondered. Her anger fell away into sadness. She felt a hopelessness about what just went down even though she had walked away with the victory. 

“Ms. Kane? A word, if you don’t mind?” came a voice from behind Sophie. “I’ve got a few ideas I’d like to discuss with you about reallocating funds given these compounding restrictions.”

Kate’s eye remained unmoved from Sophie’s gaze as Margaret Cobblepot walked up to the two. Sophie continued searching Kate for some sign she was remorseful about how she threw Sophie under the bus but found none.

“Of course, Margaret,” Kate said, finally breaking contact to address Cobblepot. “Excuse us,” Kate said to Sophie before the two began walking away. Sophie stood frozen for a moment longer, trying to piece together what the last thirty minutes had just been.

“Congratulations Ms. Moore. A well deserved job,” came Mr. Duncan’s voice. He had appeared beside her as Margaret and Kate left.

“Thanks,” Sophie said. She suddenly didn’t feel accomplished in the position. Instead, she felt lost.

“We almost lost that for a moment, didn’t we,” Duncan chuckled, nodding in the direction of Margaret and Kate. “Margaret can be quite the stoneall.”

“Margaret? Are you kidding? What about Kate,” Sophie interjected with more annoyance than she meant to reveal, “She came in with mutiny on her mind.”

Duncan stood silently for a moment, a small smirk glimmering in his eyes. He always reminded Sophie of a slimmer, middle-aged Santa Clause. He dressed like a college professor and had a full beard peppered with greys and round wire spectacles propped low on his nose for reading.

“That’s an interesting perspective, Ms. Moore,” Duncan mused before turning to leave.

“How do you mean? Were we not in the same meeting just now?” Sophie rounded on him, confused at Duncan’s words.

“Sophie, my dear, consider Margaret and her flock. They came to the table with their minds made up. Nothing Ms. Kane said persuaded those five to do or say anything they weren’t already planning," he said softly, "but it  _ did  _ reveal where they stood before we could cast the vote.”

Sophie stared back at Duncan unmoving. “Are you suggesting Kate was helping?” Sophie accused, “You’re giving too much credit to Kate’s failed attempts at keeping me out of the Crows.”

Duncan sighed lightly, “Well, let’s not dwell on that too long. Regardless of the ‘how’, your promotion is much deserved - I have the utmost trust you’ll carry us through this review,” Duncan said, bringing a lightness back to the conversation, “Now, if you please, I must be off. I have a lunch date I cannot be late for.”

Sophie gave Duncan a parting wave and found herself experiencing many things: frustration with Kate, relief for the position, annoyance with Margaret, hope for the Crows, and confusion for Duncan’s words:  _ it did reveal where they stood _ .

Sophie wasn’t ready to give Kate any credit for her new position, but she  _ was _ ready to get back to work.

* * *

Sophie had been watching the clock all day - she was due to meet Batwoman at seven, and she hadn't had a moment of privacy since entering the Crows facility. She'd been pulled into meeting after meeting, giving guidance to different teams leading the various cases around the company.

It was 6:30 before Sophie found a moment to slip away. She went to her new office and logged into the Crow server, glancing at the door with slight paranoia. She wasn't exactly authorized to enter Arkham's server without an active case to log it to, but she didn't know how else to quickly retrieve the information Batwoman could use. 

She quickly scanned the system for Duela Dent's files and confirmed she had been released early with years left on her sentence by a Dr. Butler. For good measure, she quickly skimmed his profile as well and performed a high-level download of his case studies.

Now was the tricky part. While she had a printer in her office, official documents pulled from private servers were to be printed in public areas. It was a bureaucratic hurdle to show 'transparency' within the system, and Sophie suddenly wished it didn't exist.

She glanced out her window into the open working space below. No one was there, so she took the opportunity and sent the documents to print. She quickly descended the stairs to the printing station and impatiently watched each individual piece be printed. She felt a nervousness at the risk of being caught but felt she could easily explain it away without much suspicion.

After two minutes and thirty-seven agonizing seconds later, the files were printed, and she quickly slipped them into a folder and made to leave when she came face-to-face with Margaret Cobblepot.

“Ms. Moore,” Margaret Cobblepot said with some surprise. She observed Sophie’s shocked face and noticed the folder in her hands. “Working late?”

“Uhm - ye-yes,” Sophie finally said.

“Which case?” Cobblepot pressed, sensing Sophie’s discomfort.

Sophie found herself searching for a case,  _ any case _ , that would explain her use of the public printer when another voice joined the duo: 

“Meg, I know you need to get going, but I thin-”

Sophie’s panic doubled as she recognized the voice before she saw Kate round the corner into the work space.  _ They must have been in the conference room _ , Sophie thought, panicking suddenly.  _ Your first and last day as Lead Crow. _

“Sophie,” Kate said. Her tone landed as both a question and accusation.

“Ms. Moore was just briefing me on her caseload,” Cobblepot announced with the kind of tone saved for Bond villains. Kate noted the folder in Sophie’s hands and understood what she was up to.

Kate broke into a small laugh, “Meg, you’re going to be late if you keep this up. You can’t stop and talk to everyone on your way out if you plan to make the opera on time.”

As though remembering, Cobblepot’s posture straightened, “Yes, well. We can chat more another time, Ms. Moore. Kate, today has been an absolute pleasure. Keep me posted once you’re settled in.”

“Settled in?" Sophie asked, regretting her instinct to ask.

Margaret Cobblepot turned to Sophie, “Ms. Kane has volunteered to oversee the day to day on behalf of the board. Since we don’t know how long this review could go on for, the board finds it best to have more presence in the goings on within the facility now that Jacob has been benched. Kate will be our eyes and ears performing our own sort of  _ internal _ audit.” Margaret revealed a malicious grin at this. “But yes, Kate, you are right - if I don’t leave now I’ll miss the first act  _ again _ . My husband will be completely beside himself if I'm not there on time.”

Kate struggled to not roll her eyes as Cobblepot made her exit. After an entire day with that woman, Kate wondered how anyone could be married to her for 33 years. She was ignorant but insistent. Nothing the woman said aligned with Kate, and negotiating with her was a challenge unlike anything Kate had ever encountered before. That Cobblepot had plans was a blessing in disguise; without it, Kate wasn’t sure she’d be able to slip out with enough time to meet Sophie later as Batwoman.

She knew she was short on time, but she also had an uncomfortable feeling over how Cobblepot had baselessly started interrogating Sophie. She had a feeling this wouldn’t be the last time Sophie would face a spontaneous audit that could jeopardize both Sophie’s position and her work with Batwoman.

“So what’s the case,” Kate asked, picking up where Margaret had left off. She tried to maintain a tone of authority. While the last thing she wanted was to fight with Sophie again, she’d rather Sophie hate her than be caught off guard again by a Margaret figure in the future.

The afternoon had made Kate realize she needed to keep her wits about her in Margaret Cobblepot’s presence. While she was ignorant, she was also well-connected and knew how to get her agenda pushed through. At the moment, that agenda included proving Sophie was unfit for her promotion.

The morning’s meeting had created enough confusion among Margaret’s core that they overwhelmingly voted in Sophie. Being unable to regroup after Kate’s suggestion of offering the job to GCPD meant they voted blindly for what they thought was the better option. That was a short-term solution but didn’t guarantee Sophie any permanence on the job. A single slip-up could put Lead Crow to another vote, and Kate was sure Cobblepot’s crew would be prepared with a back-up plan.

“Oh, not you too,” Sophie said, trying to bluff her way out of the conversation. “I’ve got work to do and this is a waste of my time,” she said, brushing past Kate. 

“Sophie, do not walk away from me. I’m serious about this - if those case files aren’t related to Cro-”

“We’re following up on some loose leads,” Sophie responded, stopping mid-stride and turning to face Kate.

“So you’re saying it’s formal Crow business?” Kate pressed. “Because I’ve seen the list of active cases, and there is nothing related to Arkham on any of them.”

Sophie wasn’t sure how Kate knew the files were Arkham related, and she wasn't in the mood for Kate’s interrogation tonight. “Are you babysitting me now?”

“If by ‘babysitting’ you mean ‘auditing you before Gotham City does’ then yes, consider me your new babysitter,” Kate responded with an air of superiority that Sophie found off putting. “So I’ll ask again: is this formal Crow business?”

Sophie gritted her teeth, “Let’s call it  _ prospective _ Crow business.”

Kate stared back at Sophie. She knew the folder was full of information about Dr. Butler. She also knew if City Hall found out the Crows were investigating unauthorized casework, there would be hell to pay. Kate couldn’t outright say it, but Sophie was in a tight spot helping Batwoman, and she needed to be careful.

“In what way? You know we aren’t allowed to do speculative work if it hasn’t been authorized by a private client or GCPD. Do you want the Crow’s investigative rights permanently suspended for ‘prospective’ side projects, Sophie?” Kate said. “Are you ready to ruin the company and the careers of everyone here for that?”

“No, that’s - that’s  _ not _ what I’m trying to do.” Sophie defended. She was caught off guard by Kate’s accusation, and realized she wasn’t wrong: she was being careless. Yes, as Lead Crow she had access to a treasure trove of information, but this kind of reckless decision making and rule breaking was exactly what got the Crows into this position in the first place. Granted, Sophie felt this was different than using explosives in a civilian zone, but that wasn’t the point.

“Who’s the job?” Kate asked in pretend ignorance.

“Duela Dent,” Sophie said begrudgingly. She wasn’t eager to reveal more information than she needed to.

“Duela Dent? Why does that name sound familiar,” Kate continued pretending. “Any relation to  _ the _ Dents?”

“She’s Harvey’s niece. We think she’s been involved in a string of killings since her release from Arkham.”

“ _ We _ ?” Kate asked, testing Sophie. Kate wasn’t trying to be belittling, but she also knew that she was risking a lot in Sophie if she didn’t get her stories straight. A slip like that to Cobblepot could mean she suspected other Crow’s were in on it or, worse, someone outside the Crow’s was. Either case would be bad news: unsuspecting Crow’s would be roped into a review or Cobblepot would find reason to kick Sophie to the curb.

“ _ I _ think it,  _ and _ I’m a Crow, so  _ we _ should be tackling this,” Sophie clarified quickly. She realized too late her word choice was a dumb mistake, and Kate was the last person she needed nosing around.

“Hmm, well, if this is Harvey’s niece, you should just go to the source. If there’s any chance of tarnishing the Dent name, that’ll be something Jessica Dent will want to stay on top of," Kate said, making reference to Duela’s sister. It was common knowledge that Harvey only had one sibling, Jessica, so Kate wasn’t giving too much away by suggesting it.

"Yes, but asking Jessica Dent to take us on will bring all sorts of unwanted press. Since last year all new cases are required to be submitted to GCPD for record," Sophie challenged in return. She wasn't sure why Kate was suggesting something so obviously unworkable.

"But the Crows still offer two-week pro bono services for speculative works, right? Those don't need to be formally submitted to GCPD - it's only once that cycle ends and they're  _ paying _ clients that you need to document it," Kate considered out loud. "If you think there’s something there Sophie, I trust your gut. Go see her tomorrow and get the form signed. After that, this can all be above table,” Kate said.

Sophie stared at Kate in slight amazement. She hadn’t expected Kate to help, and she definitely didn’t expect her to come up with a loop hole. After the morning’s meeting Sophie saw Kate joining the board as nothing more than a thorn in her side, but she was starting to see that perhaps Kate’s severity was layered: her intensity came from wanting to see the Crows get out of this hole  _ and _ she still had the conviction to track down the bad guys.  _ Maybe the old Kate is still in there. _

“Thanks,” Sophie said, and both her and Kate softened for the first time in days.

“Sure thing,” Kate said with a half smile. She then glanced at her watch and realized she was ten minutes late to ensure Batwoman met Sophie on the rooftop by seven. 

Sophie noticed the panic on Kate's face as she observed the time, and her heart sank slightly. "Late for something?"

"Actually, yes. I've got a - it's - well it's a -"

"A date?" Sophie asked, fighting the empty feeling in her chest.

"Kinda, yea…" Kate surrendered. She didn't like lying to Sophie, but Luke's warning rang loud in her ears: she had to keep up appearances. "Have a good night, Sophie," she said, backing away to leave.

"Sure," Sophie said, trying to smile in return as she watched her heartbreak walk away. She had spent the last few days in denial of Kate's words - that it was all a bad dream. She blinked back tears threatening to betray her hard exterior as she watched Kate turn out of sight, and she realized she might have lost her chance with her.


	7. Chapter 7

"How could they find her sane?" Sophie thought out loud. Her and Batwoman had set up shop on the abandoned floor of a building three blocks down from Wayne Tower. They’d spent the last hour reviewing case files she'd downloaded from Arkham's servers and were trying to connect Duela Dent’s recent release with her case file. "There is no evidence her condition improved. If anything, there are signs of deterioration."

Kate pondered this. She'd been reading through Dr. Butler's other cases when Sophie interrupted her thoughts. "How do you mean?"

"She was observed by multiple nurse practitioners throughout her time - and they all logged notes that suggested she had not improved - that her ‘animosity toward physical attraction was growing’. Just two weeks before her release, she attacked an ‘attractive’ family member of a fellow inmate visiting the facility. The scratches resulted in eight stitches, and Duela had to be physically restrained after seeing him," Sophie said. “What’s interesting is one NP noted that Duela’s reactions were perceived to have a “fight or flight” nature commonly associated with fear. Are they suggesting Duela is  _ afraid _ of attractive people?”

"I can’t say I’ve ever experienced  _ that _ fear before," Kate commented in response.

“That’s because you have the confidence of someone who is attractive,” Sophie responded absentmindedly.

“Oh?” Kate responded, looking up from her folder with an amused grin on her face.

“Well,” Sophie stuttered, realizing she’d uttered those words out loud, “I just mean, from what I’ve seen - yo-your exposed bits are… one might logically assume the rest is equally attractive.”

Batwoman grinned back at Sophie with a twinkle in her eye, “Well you’re not so bad yourself, Ms. Moore.”

Sophie rolled her eyes and returned to Duela’s case file.

“Hang on," Batwoman said, pulling Sophie from her review a moment later. Sophie looked up waiting for Batwoman to continue. 

Kate paused, rereading the case file to make sure she hadn't misread. "Dr. Butler was also treating Mouse."

"You mean that guy who was Alice's sidekick?" Sophie asked, "Jonathan... ?"

“Cartwright,” Batwoman said. “And get this, Mouse was scheduled for early release two weeks after he broke out. In fact, it looks like our pal Dr. Butler has released over half of his patients in the last six months. None of these patients show evidence of recovery though.”

“Do you see anything in common with them?”

Batwoman paused, reading a series of footnotes in Jonathan’s file. “Do you know anything about blue poppies?”

Sophie scanned her memory but couldn’t recall hearing it.

“It looks like part of Dr. Butler’s studies involved using them on his patients. It seems those who responded positively to this are what determined their early release, It’s not clear what ‘positive’ means to Dr. Butler though...” Batwoman said. She looked up at Sophie who was stifling a yawn and realized how late it had gotten. “It’s getting late. You should get home, and I’ll continue reading through the files. If I find anything I’ll reach out.”

Sophie was about to disagree when another yawn betrayed her sleepiness. It had been a long day, and she only just realized how high her stress level had been over the last few days now that she was relaxed and in friendlier company doing what she did best. She was exhausted. “All right. But if you find anything, let me know right away. I’m worried this isn’t helping us track Duela, though.”

“You’re right there isn’t anything explicit but…” Batwoman paused, trying to formulate her thoughts clearly, “I think there’s something connecting these releases. Maybe Duela is an anomaly, but we’ve got six other threads that might all weave together into something worse than one rampant lone wolf. We should also try getting more information about this blue poppy thing - is that something you could scrub the Arkham server for?”

Sophie’s brow furrowed slightly, “About that, I’ll need to be more cautious about this moving forward. Things could get sticky if I'm not careful.”

"What do you mean?" Kate asked, already knowing the answer.

"Things are… there's going to be more oversight than usual for a while, so my ability to do this kind of stuff is going to be limited."

Kate pretended to ponder this. She had expected Sophie to bring this up. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Sophie chuckled, "not unless you can convince my ex I'm not the enemy."

"Your ex? That Tyler guy? He’s not even in your division. Just tell him to buzz off."

Sophie paused, realizing Batwoman had no idea who she was talking about. To be fair, most people in her life wouldn't know who she was talking about if she mentioned a 'Kate' as an 'ex' in conversation - it wasn’t a part of her past she commonly shared. She shook her head, "no, this… this is someone else. We dated back at school."

"How many exes do you work with?" Kate asked innocently. The conversation was trivial to Kate, but it mattered that Sophie never suspected Kate and Batwoman shared identities, so she’d take any chance she had to capitalize on that ambiguity.

Sophie hesitated, wondering how many details to provide. She’d rather Batwoman not know dirty details about her life, but a part of her wanted to talk about this with someone. It was weird, though, thinking that the person lending her ear about intimate parts of Sophie's life was someone whose identity remained a secret.

"Her name is Kate. She’s Jacob Kane's daughter. The Kane family founded the Crows, so they have a permanent seat at the board. With Jacob being sidelined, she took over, and it let’s just say she’s not taking the position lightly. She's the reason I almost didn't get the position at the board meeting this morning, and she's negotiated herself into overseeing day to day operations now," Sophie said as succinctly as she could.

"She sounds like an ass. I’d expect that if she’s Jacob’s daughter, and I expect Jacob has her doing his dirty work. Do we need to be worried about her?" Batwoman asked.

Sophie paused. She felt a desire to defend Kate to Batwoman. Kate had voiced enough for Sophie to know Kate disagreed with her father on most things, but she definitely wasn’t acting like it. Sophie didn't doubt Kate was doing all of this of her volition without Jacob’s involvement, but she also didn't understand her true motive.  _ Do I need to be worried about Kate? _ If Batwoman had asked this question a week ago, she’d have fought tooth and nail to defend Kate as the most bullheaded but caring person she’d ever met. There wasn’t an ounce of worry about that Kate. The last few days had left her confused: there was the part of her hurting from the night at her place, then there was the part of her suspicious about her agenda from that morning, and then there was a part of her that, earlier that evening, saw a version of Kate she could rely on.

"I don't know," Sophie answered honestly. 

Batwoman sighed, showing a hint of frustration.

"It's not that I haven't trusted her in the past," Sophie quickly said, defending her comment. "I just don't know where she stands at the moment, and things between us are… complicated."

Batwoman's head cocked to the side as she took in Sophie's contemplative face. "You still like her," Batwoman said simply, calling out what Sophie wouldn't.

At this Sophie looked down at the papers in her hands.

"And my guess is, you've told her as much, and things didn't go as planned," Batwoman said, treading carefully to not suggest too much. Kate hadn’t planned to have this chat tonight. In reality, she had never planned to broach the topic of their relationship with Sophie as Batwoman. It felt like an extra level of deception to hear Sophie’s feelings shared with someone she thought was, well, _not_ _Kate_.

Sophie's eyes stung with the threat of tears and a tightness in her throat made responding difficult. Feelings she'd been squashing down for days were reemerging, and her mind flashed to a few nights before when she stood in her flat and drunkenly kissed Kate:

_ Kate had been mid-sentence when Sophie pressed her lips to Kate without warning. There was initial hesitation on Kate’s part. Sophie could tell she took her by surprise, but that had lasted less than a moment before she leaned in to return the kiss. She felt Kate's hands find her waist and pull her closer with an eagerness as her tongue slipped lightly between Sophie’s lips. An intensity and wanting took hold as Sophie pressed Kate backwards, stopping when she felt the wall behind her. Her hands wandered - one to Kate's hair where she ran her fingers through the helmet-tousled mess; another from Kate's waist to the bottom hem of her shirt, sliding behind the fabric and settling onto the soft skin. Kate moaned lightly at the touch as her teeth bit down on Sophie’s lower lip. They spent a minute like this, reacquainting each other’s bodies to their wandering hands...  _

_ And then suddenly, it was over. _

_ Kate pulled away, releasing her hands from Sophie like it shocked her, "I'm sorry, I can't," Kate mumbled. "I should go," she continued, avoiding Sophie's eyes.  _

_ Sophie stared back confused, "What? Kate, wait. What… what do you mean?" She felt like she'd just been splashed with a bucket of ice water and watched nimbly as Kate continued backing up toward the door muttering apologies. _

_ "Kate? Wh - will - will you just stop?!" Sophie let out in frustration. Kate paused, her face filled with guilt? Remorse? Confusion? After days of thinking about it, Sophie still couldn't place it. "What are you saying?" Sophie felt her cheeks burn as she began piecing together what Kate had said. "Why… why can't you? I thought - I mean, all night you were - I just…" _

_ Sophie wished she could read Kate's mind as she stood there silently for an agonizing moment. _

_ "There's someone else," Kate said averting her eyes from Sophie's intense gaze. "I should have told you earlier." _

_ Sophie fell silent.  Kate was seeing someone? _

_ "You told me to move on, so I did," Kate said. Her words felt cold and calculated to Sophie. _

_ "But all night at the bar…" Sophie said in confusion. _

_ "It was just two old friends catching up," Kate reasoned. _

_ "And the ride home?" She asked, her eyes beginning to tear in frustration. _

_ "It was late, and this is Gotham. I didn't want you travelling alone." _

_ "But you came up to my place." _

_ "You offered a night cap..." _

_ " You kissed me back ," Sophie accused, a tear of rejection now falling down her cheek. _

_ At this Kate fell silent. Sophie watched Kate remain unmoved from across the room. _

_ "You're right... but - but I don't want you, Soph." _

_ "Get out." _

_ I don't want you. _ The words had echoed in Sophie's mind every day since.

“It doesn’t matter,” Sophie finally said to Batwoman. “It’s done.”


	8. Chapter 8

A ring echoed off the narrow walls of the space. By now Kate was used to the sharp tone resonating throughout her small office as she picked up the phone for what felt like the hundredth time that morning, “This is Kate.”

“Kate! How’s my girl doing?”

“Dad? How did you -”

“Margaret called. I’m so proud of you honey - taking on the mantle on the board and now, overseeing day-to-day. In no time the city will see that everything we’ve done has been in line with the law.”

Kate listened to Jacob on the other end of the line from her new office - if you could even call it that. The space was a five foot by six foot windowless hole in the wall. After nearly thirty minutes of cursing and negotiating the tight quarters, she was finally able to orient the desk to fit across the space to face the door. Unfortunately, that also meant there was absolutely no space to get around the desk to her chair which meant she had to labor over the physical task of climbing over her desk every morning. 

Her suspicions that the office was an old supply closet converted over for her use were confirmed when the floor’s janitor barged in one evening to find his supplies had disappeared. After a slightly awkward confrontation, she confirmed he wasn’t going insane but that his mop and bucket were now somewhere else in the building. It was only day four of her new role overseeing the Crow’s operations, and she was already running short on bandwidth. She had all but abandoned hope of keeping up appearances through her role at the Hold Up, and she found herself relying heavily on Luke to sort through the Arkham files Sophie had collected. She worried this new position was going to upend her plans, but she also didn’t think surrendering it to someone like Margaret Cobblepot in this role would service anyone - especially not Sophie. As long as she kept up appearances for the short term, she might be able to delay any plans by Cobblepot until after the audit when there was less leverage to make drastic changes.

“...and Margaret is quite fond of you. I knew you two would hit it off. If things keep up like this, we’ll have the majority support of the board back and I’ll be reinstated in no time.”

“That’s great, dad,” Kate said, only half paying attention.

Margaret may be fond of Kate, but the same couldn’t be said about Kate of Margaret. Before Monday’s meeting, Margaret had spent all of Sunday briefing Kate on her plans to gut the task force and move toward a business plan relying exclusively on video surveillance technology. Kate spent the afternoon trying to find a way to convince Margaret this was a terrible idea, but Maragaret insisted that the riots from three years prior could have been mitigated, not by additional policing, but by a finely tuned surveillance system that would have cut off the uprising at its source before it ever became the destruction it was. What Cobblepot wasn’t realizing was that the riots weren’t a group of people meeting in a dark alley to plan a city-wide surgence: they were a reflection of Gotham’s inequality. The timing was correlated to Batman’s departure, and it functioned as a rebellion against another symbol of hope taken from the city’s worst off. The riots were organic, and the only way to keep it from happening again was to improve the living conditions of the ignored.

She tried clarifying these points to Margaret but found it all fell on deaf ears. She wasn’t in this to protect the people of Gotham: she was in it for the power and money a city-wide contract with Gotham would provide. It was during this initial conversation it was revealed to Kate that Margaret planned to step into the role of Crow oversight. The position was written into the company by-laws as a way to provide checks and balances between the day-to-day leadership and the board. In a series of convoluted leaps, Jacob had somehow undertaken that role as both board member and Lead Crow, and now that he was removed, that left a gap in the day-to-day flow of information back to the board.

It didn’t take long for Kate to realize Margaret in this role would spell disaster for the task force  _ and _ the audit. She observed Cobblepot’s performance at the board meeting and knew she’d do everything in her power to undermine Sophie as Lead Crow and help feed into the narrative that the Crows needed a new direction. Before she knew it, Kate volunteered for the job Monday afternoon. Margaret was skeptical, not sure whether she trusted Kate to do the job  _ correctly _ , but after Monday morning’s declaration of doubt for Sophie, she had Margaret safely in her camp.

A knock on her door allowed Kate to disrupt Jacob’s monologue, “Hey Dad, sorry to cut you off, but I gotta go.”

“Of course, of course. Make me proud, Kate.”

Kate dropped the handset to the receiver and beckoned whoever was at the door to enter. The door opened halfway before clashing with Kate’s desk. Sophie poked her head around, examining the space and nearly laughed, “Nice digs.”

Kate rolled her eyes, “Did you need something?”

“Paulie said you were looking for me earlier, so really that’s what I should be asking you.”

Kate blinked, suddenly remembering, “Right, sorry.” Kate sifted through the growing stacks on her desk looking for a folder as Sophie slid through the door frame into the office. Once found, Kate continued, “This morning we received a formal mandate from the City that the Crows are to absorb three members from the GCPD into daily operations as special inspection officers.”

“Excuse me? The GCPD? Here?” Sophie asked, her eyes wide with amazement.

“They’ve provided a list of fifteen potential applicants with their CVs. We need to send our preferred five candidates to GCPD for approval by end of day tomorrow,” Kate continued, ignoring Sophie’s growing look of outrage.

Sophie was lost for words. The GCPD was the exact type of corruption they were being accused of.

“I don’t like it either, Sophie, but we need to jump through these hoops. I’ve given a cursory review of the names and placed an ‘x’ next to the ones I find least qualified, but you should weigh in as Lead Crow,” Kate continued. She lifted the stack of papers to Sophie who snatched them from Kate’s hand in frustration.

“You know this won’t bring anything but problems, right?” Sophie said, flipping through the pages. “The majority of them are corrupt, and we expect to trust them with our cases? If the City doesn’t shut us down, introducing this into the task force certainly will.”

“Just take a look and find five. We’ll figure out what to do with them when the time comes.”

“ _ We _ ? No, Kate, this isn't your at your discretion,” Sophie challenged. She realized Kate held certain powers and oversight, but this decision would directly impact her ability to manage. “You may be allowed to poke your nose in on meetings and case information, but day-to-day operations and decision making is still in my court.”

“This isn’t up for negotiation, Sophie. Either we work together on this, or I select the five on my own. I’m really only offering this as a courtesy.”

Sophie glared at Kate. This wasn’t how Sophie expected her first week as Lead Crow to go, and knowing her greatest day-to-day resistance came from Kate was making it more complicated. They had barely spoken since Monday’s meeting with the exception of their confrontation about Duela Dent, but that didn’t mean Kate’s intervention wasn’t felt. One meaningless task after another was slowly filling Sophie’s schedule, making her ability to manage all the harder, and she was having a hard time seeing Kate’s role as anything but a detriment. 

After meeting with Batwoman Monday night, she had taken her trip home to evaluate Kate’s recent actions - it had been on her mind all day, and a few minutes of peace gave her the chance she needed to reflect on everything. On one side, she could see Kate’s efforts as looking out for Sophie’s good: she considered Duncan’s words about Kate’s participation at the board meeting and Kate’s intervention to stop Margaret’s prying that same night. Her proposed loophole around the Duela Dent case had been exactly what she needed, and it had the necessary foresight Sophie hadn’t considered. On the other hand, she still felt a sense of betrayal about Kate’s actions the week earlier at her apartment, and that was tainting how Sophie saw Kate’s recent motives. There was also the glaring fact she had effectively stood in front of Sophie’s immediate superiors and called her insufficient to do her job. 

While she wanted to give Kate the benefit of the doubt, over the next few days she found herself grappling even more with Kate’s sudden change of character as each new obstacle that landed on her desk came with her signature at the bottom. If this had been four years ago, she would have charged up to Kate and demanded an explanation, but her pride was getting the better of her. They may have been able to talk through anything in the past, but Sophie felt like Kate had switched teams, and that made her defensive about trying to clear the air. This new Kate sided with people like Margaret Cobblepot and put business first - she didn’t carry the same convictions from her time at the Academy. Mostly Sophie was angry, but when it came to this, Sophie couldn’t help but feel a pang of sadness. The one person she once thought she could rely on anytime for anything was letting her down.

“Fine.”

“Great, let’s meet tomorrow morning to discuss. Have that Paulie guy join. I assume he follows you around all the time because he’s good at something. We can have him take the meeting minutes,” Kate said. Her phone began ringing again, filling the small space with noise. 

Kate answered: “This is Kate… hey, yea I’ve got a minute... Just hold on a sec,” she said and placed her hand over the mouthpiece. She returned her attention to Sophie who was still registering the ultimatum Kate had given her, “was there something else?”

Sophie took a breath as if to argue with Kate, but the look on her face was uncompromising, and the path forward was set. “No, we’re clear,” Sophie said tersely and left, slamming the door behind her.

* * *

It was Friday morning, and the dying breaths of winter air cut through the city as a taxi pulled up in front of an abandoned structure in Lower Gotham.

“Uhm, are you sure we’re in the right spot?” Mary asked, exiting the taxi in front of an eight-storey dump of a building. It looked like it was supposed to be new construction, but broken windows and graffiti on the exterior brick facade painted a different picture.

“Yea, this is the address,” Luke remarked.

The site was on the edge of ‘developed’ Gotham. Three years prior, the building was nearing completion, but the resulting riots from Batman’s disappearance had left the construction site abandoned and unfinished. Now the owner was looking to clean his hands of this and two other lots and their degrading structures.

“And you’re  _ sure _ Kate is interested in this?”

Kate had warned Luke the space was going to be run down. She had gone to see it as Batwoman earlier that week but wanted Luke to examine it in the light of day. He had prepared himself for the worst: a gutted interior, half-demolished from a fire with half the facade melting off. This was actually far better than he expected. He shrugged, “Kate’s looking to tap into zones with potential. There’s a housing demand here.”

“She’s never going to rent this space. No one with enough money is going to want to live in this neighborhood,” Mary said, surveying the surrounding buildings. Most were barely in better shape, and half the storefronts were boarded up. “There isn’t even a Whole Foods.”

“Yea, well, who said anything about it being for people with enough money?” Luke replied.

“Oh,” Mary said. She blushed slightly with embarrassment. She had assumed when Kate said she was entering the real estate business, she was going to the high end market like Tommy Elliot or the Wayne family. She never expected Kate to invest in the actual people of Gotham, but she also had to admit that for the last seven years, Kate wasn’t enough in her life to know what to expect. 

They waited a few minutes until someone named ‘Greg’ showed up with the keys to the space, although they probably could have just hopped through one of the broken windows.

“19 units in total, 3 per floor with a penthouse up top,” Greg said. He seemed numb to the damage to the interior as he walked them through the space.

“This place has a penthouse?” Mary asked with amazement.

“Three years ago was a different time,” Greg said, shrugging. “People thought weird things.”

Luke continued walking the main lobby, observing the damage was limited to the finishes; it didn’t look like the building had been completely gutted like other buildings in the area. “Have you had surveillance around here?”

“Night guards only, but the follow through is hit and miss. People get spooked easy these days.”

They spent the next hour and a half walking each floor and taking note of the damage. The structure was built of heavy timber which was uncommon in Gotham. It was more common to use cheap light wood frames because of the proximity to surrounding forestry sites. Sourcing heavy timber was clearly a design choice by the developer, and it wasn’t a cheap one.

The charm of the spaces was growing on Mary, and halfway through the tour she began suggesting interior fit-outs for different units. Luke initially tried to keep his demeanor professional, not wanting to feed into Mary’s imagination, but by the third floor, he was all in. Greg, to his credit, took the imagination of the two in stride. He occasionally threw in his own suggestion but generally stayed quiet.

“So all’s left is the penthouse,” Greg said, walking up the stairs to the last space of the tour - the elevators had been shut off for security. He unlocked the front door and revealed the full open-floor plan of the top unit. 

The unit was completely unfinished - obviously a symptom of the site’s abandonment three years earlier, but the heavy timber spanned across the entire space, uninhibited by a floor load above it. The ceiling was four feet higher than any other unit and natural light flooded through the north and west walls. The west glazing wrapped around the souther wall to provide the perfect view of Gotham’s skyline.

“Let’s buy it!” Mary whispered with unrestrained excitement.

* * *

“Right, so, we can all agree wiping camera footage off three different CCTV systems to help your partner get away with a crime is  _ pretty obviously _ corruption,” Kate said, crossing another name off the list. They had been reviewing the list of candidates from the GCPD, and it was clear the options were slim pickings. Sophie disagreed with Kate’s initial list, and thirty minutes was wasted vying for the upper hand about who was right. “Do you  _ still _ disagree with me about her?” Kate asked. 

Sophie tossed her pen on the table giving up the fight. She wasn’t sure if Kate had spent more time reviewing the candidates or not, but she seemed far more prepared and informed that her or Paulie were. If this had been any other person on any other day, she'd have voiced relief at someone shedding this supplemental light, but that it was Kate and about GCPD corruption made Sophie all the more frustrated.

Kate’s phone lit up showing an incoming call from Luke. “I need to take this - it’ll just be a moment.”

“Sure, that’s fine. I’m sure whatever posh real estate deal you’re working on is  _ much _ more important than this. Take your time - we’ll just be twiddling our thumbs,” Sophie said, glaring at Kate as she rose to leave. Kate’s eyes narrowed in annoyance as she walked out, securing the door behind her.

Sophie brought her hands to her face in frustration.

“I see your trajectory with the Kane’s is consistent,” Paulie joked.

“Is it that obvious?” Sophie muttered with heavy sarcasm through her fingers. “Honestly? I think I’d take Jacob over her. I mean, Jacob was a hard-ass, but at least he didn’t completely undermine the good of the work to feed his own ego. You know she’s got me submitting weekly summaries on each case for her and the board to review? They’re micromanaging my role so I can’t actually lead anything. And now she’s intervening to decide who gets selected from the GCPD?”

Sophie looked at Paulie who appeared deep in thought. She smirked at his contemplation. He was one of the few Crows who, like Sophie, didn’t come from money or with extensive military experience. He was a scrappy kid from the wrong side of Jersey who was born with the handicap of ginger hair. His bright red head made him an easy target among the rest of the task force, but Sophie never once doubted his commitment to the team.

“What’s on your mind, Paulie?”

“This is all pretty messed up, right? I mean, we were created to be a better version of the GCPD. If we let their corruption in, we’ll be no better.”

Sophie nodded in agreement. This was certainly an unexpected twist that she had never considered, and she couldn’t help but wonder how many more surprises would come out of this before it was all over.

The two fell into a contemplative silence, and a few minutes later the door opened and Kate reemerged, “Sorry about that.”

“You sure you didn’t want to take lunch, too?” Sophie asked, her annoyance dredged with sarcasm.

“I ate a late breakfast, but thanks,” Kate responded in kind. “So where were we? Of the fifteen we’ve eliminated seven on suspicion of obvious corruption. That leaves three more to get rid of. Any suggestions?”

"Hang on, I thought we crossed off eight," Sophie jumped in. She skimmed the lists, comparing her’s to Kate’s, "Yea, Roman Cavallo."

"I didn't agree to that," Kate responded. 

"Are you serious? This guy is dripping with corruption. He's literally been accused dozens of times."

"But not once has been found guilty of it. He stays."

Sophie was baffled at this. Cavallo was a known crook, and Kate insisting he be considered was an obvious red flag. This power play by Kate was going to ruin the task force.

"So who else?"

Sophie glared at Kate for a moment longer, contemplating just walking out of the room. It was becoming clear that she didn't need to wait for the GCPD to arrive to introduce corruption to the Crows. “I say we cut Marcus Wise and Renee Montoya,” Sophie offered after a moment.

Kate leaned back in her chair surveying Sophie’s face, “Why?”

“Wise is too embedded in petty crime which makes me think he’s been paid off to avoid hunting the big fish. He’s never landed a big arrest, and his laissez-faire attitude doesn’t sit well with me.”

Kate nodded as she considered Sophie’s words. “And Montoya?”

“Too inexperienced. She’ll be too eager to exploit some otherwise bland detail as fantastical, and we don’t need that kind of scrutiny - it’ll risk making something out of nothing,” Sophie said simply.

“I think we should keep her. Harvey Bullock was her mentor. If that’s anything to go off, it means we can trust her not to exploit the situation.”

“That was two years ago when she was a rookie. Since then she's been bouncing from detective to detective with zero consistency," Sophie countered. She wasn't about to roll over and let Kate push through her choices again.

"Let's scratch Wise as you suggested, but leave Montoya and Cavallo. Instead we cut Simmons and Raymond. They’re partners, and having a duo like that would mean bad news whether they’re corrupt or not."

Sophie sat stewing with frustration. She felt like a leader in name only - the real decision making rested with Kate, and she was being taken for a ride. "This is ridiculous," Sophie said, rising from the table. "Do whatever you want. I'm done here."

With that she left, leaving Paulie and Kate alone in the room. 

"Do you have any thoughts?" Kate asked Paulie. He paled at Kate's question and shook his head no. "Great. I believe we are adjourned then."

* * *

It was hours later and everyone else had gone home for the weekend. Kate was packing and locking up her office for the night. It was late for a Crow but still early for Batwoman, and she had plans to patrol the area. She still didn't have any leads on Duela, but she knew Batwoman as a symbol for the city meant she needed to be seen even for petty crimes. She made her way to the elevator lobby when she saw the familiar silhouette of Sophie standing in wait for a lift as well.

Sophie noticed Kate approach and looked away, ignoring her. She was still fuming from the morning’s meeting or, as Paulie called it later, the stick-up. Part of her had considered overriding the list with her recommendations, but realized an act like that would certainly get her fired. Instead, she submitted the five names as ‘agreed’ but vowed to ensure who got selected wouldn’t come anywhere near active cases. The ding of the elevator signaled its arrival, and for a moment Sophie considered waiting for a different one to avoid Kate, but her pride overrode her frustrations: she wasn’t about to be silently bullied out of sharing a space with Kate.

Sophie entered first, tapping ‘G’ and shifting herself to the back corner of the lift. She observed Kate enter and stand at the opposite corner. A prolonged moment passed as Sophie silently cursed the lifts for not working faster as the doors finally closed and began moving. Kate remained staring straight ahead and had leaned against the wall as though bored of the space.

"What’s your deal?" Sophie finally asked, breaking the silence. Somehow the tight quarters of the elevator made her boil over. Her frustrations from the morning finally simmered over, and she wanted answers. "What happened to all those things you said before? About fighting for Gotham and being better than the corruption? Was that all a lie? Because you’re sure making a shitty display of it. "

Kate glanced briefly at Sophie, seeing the frustration written all over her face, before turning her attention stoically to the digital read counting down the floors. 

“Your silence is speaking volumes,” Sophie said after a moment. What followed was a deafening wave of silence, and Sophie found herself growing more and more frustrated. 

Another ding signaled their arrival to the ground floor, and Kate pushed herself off the wall and silently exited, leaving Sophie alone, mouth agape in surprise. “So that's it? You're going to sell out just like that?" she half-yelled, walking out of the elevator toward Kate. The entire lobby was empty, which made Sophie feel freer to make clear her annoyance with Kate.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Kate said, continuing toward the entrance. 

"What the hell, Kate?" Sophie practically shouted, now grabbing Kate’s arm to stop her. Sophie scanned Kate’s face for some clue.

“ _ I don’t know what you’re talking about _ ,” Kate replied again between a clenched jaw, her eyes not on Sophie but on the surrounding area. She pulled away from Sophie’s grip and turned to exit.

Sophie was stunned. “I never expected you to be a sellout, Kate, but I guess we can just add that to the list, right below 'lying cheat',” she shot back, her face red with anger as Kate walked away from her.

Kate, for her part, froze at this accusation. For a moment Sophie thought she’d finally get Kate to admit what she was doing, but instead of turning to address Sophie’s remark Kate continued out into the night.

_ How could Kate not know _ , she thought, her anger turning to confusion when, suddenly, it clicked. Sophie glanced around: there was no one in sight, but after glancing around eye level, she looked up and identified three security cameras in the lobby. They were part of the Crow’s surveillance system - something used more for show to prospective clients than anything else.  _ What is Kate worried about these for? _ She lingered a moment longer before exiting onto the darkened street. She glanced left and right before she found Kate leaning propped against her bike halfway down the block. Sophie grinned as she approached Kate, pleased with herself for recognizing Kate’s code. It had been years since they devised the strategy, but it had already been useful on two separate occasions in as many months.

“I almost didn’t catch that,” she offered once within earshot of Kate.

“I wasn’t sure you would,” Kate responded. Her face was just as stoic as before, and Sophie couldn’t tell if this was Kate’s general demeanor now, or she was reacting to Sophie’s latest jab.

“About what I said in there, I wa-”

“It’s fine.”

Sophie glanced around, her mind swimming with questions, “So what’s going on? What’s with all the hostility?”

“You need to be more careful, Sophie,” Kate said.

“About what?” Sophie responded, looking for a sign from Kate’s face for information. 

“You need to let the board do it’s work.”

“This is about the  _ board _ ? I should have known. You have  _ actually _ sold out,” Sophie countered, letting Kate’s words reinforce her earlier opinions of Kate’s actions. Kate wasn't telling her anything she didn't already know. 

“This isn’t  _ just  _ about the board, Sophie. Margaret is up to something, and if you keep it up, you won’t be able to handle it on your own,” Kate responded quietly.

"That's such bullshit, Kate. I can't handle it? I’ve been doing this long enough to know how to deal with the board. But obviously you must have some treasure trove of knowledge with all of your experience. Remind me again, exactly how long have you been a Crow for?" It was a low blow, but Sophie was getting a little sick of seeing Kate interject whenever she thought Sophie was out of line. After all, Sophie was the one with years of actual experience as a Crow.

“Look," Kate continued, ignoring Sophie's jab, "I think Margaret is positioning herself to make a move to take over the company. She’s already working to dismantle it through budgetary allocations. Her goal is to cut the entire task force and move into surveillance, and one step toward that is proving you’re not performing adequately.`”

“Well you aren’t making that any easier,” Sophie offered, only half listening to what Kate was saying. Though if this was true, it explained why Kate was reluctant to talk in the building lobby, but it didn't explain the rest of her behavior. “You’re not exactly leaving me any room to do my actual job in the first place.”

“Margaret is the primary stakeholder to two different CCTV companies. She’s looking to merge them in the next few months which would make that mega company a monopoly - practically unstoppable. It would also mean merging the existing surveillance infrastructure built throughout the city. She wants a contract with the City out of it. I’m talking ‘Big Brother’ stuff.”

“Which is illegal,” Sophie added, eyeing Kate’s theory with doubt. “The city would never let a monopoly take hold - there’s literally a law against it.”

Kate looked like she might laugh, “Sorry, this is still Gotham, right? How do you think Tommy Elliot, or even Wayne Enterprise got to where they are? Wayne Enterprise has a monopoly on at least half a dozen industries in this city. Margaret Cobblepot is well-positioned politically, and she has the means.”

Sophie’s brow furrowed in thought as Kate continued, “I don’t have a lot to go off: I don't know her timeline, who all is working with her, or how much control she's already nabbed. At the very least we need the audit to go smoothly, and I need you to be more careful, otherwise I don’t see how we’ll get around it.”

Sophie wasn’t sure how to take this news. It suddenly put into perspective Kate’s attitude over the last week, but that didn’t mean she trusted Kate to be telling the truth. 

“I’m not lying to you, Soph,” Kate said, reading Sophie’s thoughts. “You should also know something else: that Paulie kid isn't on your side.”

Sophie stared back at Kate. She had almost done it. Kate had almost convinced her she was doing the right thing for the Crows. And then she said the one thing that was inconceivable even on Sophie’s worst day. Instead of buying Kate’s words, Sophie’s suspicions of Kate’s motives spiked to a new level at the mention of Paulie. She had been his mentor for years, and now Kate was accusing him of playing for another team.

“Excuse me?” Sophie asked, stunned by Kate’s suggestion. “For someone with zero intel, you sure did narrow in on the one person on the task force who has the greatest track record for honesty and loyalty to me which is something you don't have a leg to stand on at the moment.”

“Sophie, this is different. What happened before wa-.”

“Which part? Explain to me which part is different: the part where you lie to me or the part where you make a fool of me?” Sophie asked, her pent up frustrations getting the better of her. “Because I'm getting a vibe you're in this for you right now.”

Kate looked ready to argue with Sophie, but was also clearly at a loss for words. Sophie could read on Kate’s face that this wasn’t how she expected this conversation to go.

“You can’t dupe me, Kate. I don’t know what’s going on with you, but you are not the person I thought I knew. Go tell your conspiracies to someone who you haven’t destroyed your trust with. And if you ever  _ do _ waste my time again with some theory, at least have the decency to show up with some evidence that backs it up and doesn’t accuse an honest, hardworking person of playing sides.”

Sophie turned and began walking back toward the building.

“Look, I could be wrong,” Kate called out to Sophie. “Just… just keep an eye on him, will you?”

“This is a deep dive, Kate, even for you. Drop the act, will you? This whole charade of pretending to care isn’t working for you anymore.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all,
> 
> I hope you're enjoying this so far. If you haven't had a chance, check out the first in the 'Becoming Batwoman' series: Point Rock, Part I. It might help give some added context for Kate and Sophie's relationship as it continues to develop throughout this story.
> 
> Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, kudos-ed, and read up to this point!
> 
> Cheers,  
> EQT.95


	9. Chapter 9

Kate was running late. She’d been caught up in a five-guy late night alley brawl that left her tracking down two of them until the early hours of the morning, and her belated return to the batcave translated into a less than timely departure for her day job. 

She was both sore and exhausted as she made her way into the Crow’s facility, tossing back the remainder of the extra-strength coffee Luke had made to get her through the morning. While on her saga, Luke had uncovered some news about blue poppies she was eager to read, but first she had to get through a morning of meetings with Margaret Cobblepot and two of her board allies. She considered stopping by the kitchen to grab another cup, but already feeling the shakes settling in, she decided her empty stomach couldn't handle another round.

“You’re late,” Margaret observed as Kate entered the conference room. She looked her up and down, noting Kate’s haggard appearance. “I hear you own a bar.”

“Uh - that’s right,” Kate responded confusedly.

“When you’re on the board of a company, there are certain...  _ appearances _ to be maintained. Let’s try to keep our wild nights to a minimum,” Margaret continued, tossing a copy of the Gotham Gazette onto the table. It was open to the “Who’s Who” section known for covering the debauchery of Gotham’s elite each weekend.

_ Page 6 _ , Kate noted.  _ Well done, Luke _ , she thought, reading the headline that suggested Kate had spent the weekend out galavanting. There was even a blurry picture for added charm.  _ Your photoshop skills could use some work though... _

“And that girlfriend of yours… Amy, or Angela or…” Margaret said, searching for the name. She slid the article back to her, scanning it, “Angelique! You and her should join Robert and me for dinner. I’d like to meet this ‘angel of the night’,” she said, quoting the article. “How about Thursday?"

If Kate wasn't already so pale from sleep deprivation, Margaret would surely have seen the color drain from her face.

"Thursday?" Kate asked dumbly.  _ Luke just haaad to give her a name _ , she thought, cursing Luke's handy work. "She'll actually be out of the country Thursday. Business," she added, "you know how it is."

Margaret peered at Kate over her glasses, analyzing her words before breaking into a sympathetic smile, "Oh of course. It must be hard for her to be away. I remember when Robert would travel endlessly for work - the long weeks alone...," she said, trailing off as her eyes glossed over. "Well nevermind that then, you just tell me what works and we'll put it on the books."

Kate nodded, silently thanking Maragret’s pass. She was already struggling to keep track of her stories, and adding in an imaginary girlfriend made her list just that much longer. 

“Well, enough socializing - let’s get down to work. The first issue is the integration of the GCPD to the task force. We will find out who our little special inspection guests are later today, but I want to go through the candidates with you first. A little birdy advised your handy work is to thank for knocking Sophie Moore down a peg last week. I’m thrilled with the list - especially this Roman Cavallo fellow - he’s with me, as you know. I hear you put up an exceptional fight for him,” Margaret pointed out with a wink.

Kate did know that. She also knew that there were seven other names of the list who were allied with Margaret. How Cobblepot managed to manipulate the original list at all still amazed Kate. Of the seven, Kate steered clear of five. The remaining two, Cavallo and Azeveda seemed manageable, and Kate had it on good authority that Cavallo was up for suspension following a last minute snafu involving Batwoman and a drug deal gone wrong the week prior. Fortunately for the Crows, this hadn't fallen on Margaret's radar yet.

Margaret’s praises also reinforced her suspicions of Paulie. That there were only three people in the room and both Sophie and Kate would never divulge the news to Cobblepot. That made him the obvious outlier.

“Too bad only the two made it,” Margaret said, peering at Kate over her glasses expectantly.

“I was worried any more would stir the pot too much. We still need Sophie to appear as Lead Crow in more than name, and that would be difficult if we assumed full control of the list. I put up enough of a fight to make clear the board had final authority. Besides, I think this should provide you with the access you need without causing Sophie to question the integrity of the audit,” Kate replied. She had expected Margaret to challenge the final list, and came prepared. She felt confident that, once assigned, she could control the information flow to one Cobblepot ally, but not three. If everything went to plan with Cavallo, that’s exactly how it would play out.

“Fair point. Besides, I’m confident our two will make the cut. As for the third, we can use that as a distraction.

* * *

“Did you hear? Did you hear?!” came a squeal through the precinct hall.

Renee Montoya glanced up from her desk and saw Wendy bounding toward her.

“Hear what, Wendy?” she asked with a slightly annoyed tone. She always enjoyed visits from her former police academy buddy, but she also had a mound of paperwork to complete following a botched arrest from the day before.

“The special inspection officers for the Crow audit were selected!”

“And?” Renee asked with no interest. She had heard the city was setting up a team to aid with the internal review, but had not bothered to learn more.

“You were chosen!”

Renee looked up from her desk, perplexed. “Excuse me?”

* * *

“Explain.” 

Renee had charged into her Captain’s office. After finding out from Wendy that she had been selected as one of three to take on the role of special inspections officer for the Crow audit, she was beyond furious.

“I see you’ve heard.”

“This is some horse shit,” she continued, her face red with anger. 

“Language, Montoya.”

“I get that I messed up, Cap’, but I don’t deserve this kind of punishment. It was one time,” she pleaded. “Don’t make me do this.”

Captain Morgan leaned back in his chair, observing the feisty spitball that had arrived in his precinct six months earlier. She was like an unwanted foster child - being handed from precinct to precinct. This was her longest tenure at any location since her rookie year. Her problem? She had a habit of getting in too deep with cases and stirring up all sorts of secrets. She meant well, but in a culture so rooted in corruption, her ambitions were seen as a hindrance to colleagues dabbling in it on the side. 

"This is out of my hands, Montoya. Besides, it won't be for long. The Mayor wants this wrapped in weeks. He sees it as more of a formality than anything."

"That's exactly what I'm worried about! You might as well put me behind a desk if that's all this is. I'm not going to ruin my reputation by pandering to the elites over at Murder Crow," she jumped in.

Morgan chuckled at Montoya's reference to the Crows. He was a sucker for puns and found the recent nickname for the Crows especially tickling. The GCPD had its own problems, sure, but the latest actions by the Crows were on a different level: they were killing bystanders to bend at the will of their elite clientele.

He sighed when he realized Montoya wasn't going to back down. "Let me see if they can find an alternate to replace you. The paperwork has officially been filed, so you'll have to appear on behalf of the GCPD for the time being."

Montoya broke into a smile. A shortened sentence was better than nothing. "Thank you, sir. That would mean a lot."

“One might even say I’ll try to  _ rum  _ up something.”

“That will never be funny, sir.”

Captain Morgan waved her off. "I'll let you know when I hear something. Until then, enjoy your time on Murder Crow," he grinned jokingly at Renee. He knew she hated the Crows almost as much as she hated her corrupt partner. This would be as trying for her as it would be for the Crows who had to deal with her.

She eyed him in annoyance as she made to leave. 

"Just wait. I'll be back."

"Oh I know. I'll be holding my breath, Montoya."

* * *

"So blue poppies are the key ingredient in fear toxin?" Kate asked Luke.

Luke had spent the last three days taking a deep dive into Bruce's archives from years of crime fighting. He thought the flower sounded familiar, but couldn't place it for days. He remembered Bruce once referred to it in passing in a bad joke. Luke didn't get it at the time, but it did make him think it was significant enough Bruce might have logged it from a previous case. After nothing for page after page and file after file, he almost gave up before a single line item that opened up a world of information: He found it stashed in the Scarecrow’s file. Scarecrow, also known as Dr. Jonathan Crane, had used fear toxin over a decade earlier in his own research at Arkham.

Equipped with this knowledge, Luke returned to his web of public research but found any reference had been scrubbed clean. Research papers on fear toxin from years prior censored the term ‘blue poppies’ to ensure it wouldn't be misused again, and nothing in his other research provided any evidence of its existence.

"He's actually been quite clever about it," Luke added. "It's like the world was so afraid it would be abused again that they wiped it from recent memory, and that’s allowed him to hide it in plane sight. It took us over a week to find a trace of information on it, and that's only because we have Bruce's archives."

Kate pondered this. “Is there any way to track it? It’s not local to this region, right?”

“Tibet, actually,” Luke, “And no, there haven’t been any imports to Arkham that seem suspicious. I think we need to assume Butler is accruing it through less conspicuous means.”

“Great, let’s just add it to the list of things to keep track of. Apparently it's the theme of the day."

“Speaking of… well, all of that...how has it been? I feel like I haven’t seen you in weeks,” Luke asked as a way of taking a break from crime-fighting.

As much as Luke and Kate’s lives intertwined around Batwoman and the real estate work, Luke was right that they hadn’t physically been in the same space for more than an hour since she had started her role with the Crows. He got the high level need-to-know bits when she would swing in to change for a night on the prowl, but he was still in the dark for most of it.

“You were going to tell Sophie your theory about Cobblepot, right? How did that go?” Luke continued.

“Fine. Might need to double back on it,” Kate responded, not bothering to look up from the research she was pouring over.

“Double back? What does that mean?” Luke asked, his curiosity getting the better of him. “Were you… distracted by something else?”

Kate looked up at Luke who was grinning mischievously back at her. Her eyes narrowed in confusion. “What are you talking about?”

“Just that… you know… I can see how conversations with Sophie could be difficult.”

“I don’t understand what you’re saying. Do you have a real question?”

Luke finally broke, “Ok, Mary told me she left you and Sophie behind at the bar the other night and… well, you came in super late and, I was jus-”

“Nothing happened,” Kate cut in, shortly.  _ Aaand, that was nearly two weeks ago _ , she thought to herself. 

“Oh… really? Because Mary thought -”

“Mary thought  _ what _ , Luke,” Kate asked, her tone challenging and edgy.

Luke paused for a moment, trying to get a read on Kate. He knew she wasn’t into her private details being discussed, but he felt they were close enough that a conversation like this wouldn’t make her as defensive as she was getting.

“Nothing,” he said finally. “Forget I mentioned it.”

He returned his attention to his computer, hesitant to bring up another topic at risk of breaking any more eggshells. His afternoon with Mary had divulged a number of interesting tidbits about Kate that he didn’t know, and he wondered, if not for Mary, whether he’d have ever learned them. Obviously the most intriguing was Kate and Sophie’s relationship. While he had warned Kate against entering a relationship, Mary’s sharing of their relationship during their time at the Academy made him wonder why they weren’t back together yet. 

He began thinking back to that Thursday morning after her night out with Mary and Sophie. She had looked terrible, and, after discussing it with Mary the following week, he assumed it was because of a late night of… catching up. Contrary to his advice that Kate avoid relationships, he was excited that she may be finding happiness in a relationship with Sophie. He even rationalized being ok remaining in the dark about it for the time being. 

As he let his thoughts linger, he suddenly recalled the story he’d had published in the Gotham Gazette just that morning. He and Kate had cooked up a strategy to drop stories to the Gazette as a way of keeping up her appearances. That morning’s story effectively announced she was in a relationship, and it dawned on him that perhaps the reason for Kate's temper wasn't because he was nosing around her private life with Sophie but because there  _ was _ no private life with Sophie in the first place. 

“I’m sorry,” Kate said softly from her side of the table, causing Luke to flinch in surprise. “I’m being a crab.”

Luke looked up to see Kate’s face was full of remorse, and he grinned shyly back at her, suddenly regretting his own comments, “It’s good, really. And I'm also sorry - I shouldn't have pried. I was just trying to make conversation about something other than Duela Dent and her… friends?”

“How about we hit pause and order a pizza?” Kate offered.

“With extra olives?” Luke asked pleadingly.

Kate stared at him for the monster he was, “How about we go halvsies?”

* * *

Sophie was just leaving her office for the night when an email notification appeared on her phone. It was from the GCPD Commissioner himself announcing the three selected names to take on roles as special inspectors. Sophie quickly swiped through the political nonsense that filled the first four paragraphs until she landed on the names:

Josh Azeveda

Roman Cavallo

Renee Montoya

Start date: effective immediately.

She dropped her phone-holding arm to her side in exasperation.  _ Of course it would be these three _ , she sighed to herself, thinking back to the hours long debate from a few days prior. She stared longingly down the hall at the elevator lobby before turning back toward her office. It was going to be a long night.

* * *

“I’ve never even met someone named Angelique let alone considered dating one,” Kate laughed through a slice of pizza, throwing a stray olive at Luke. She was razzing him for his artistic licensing in the Gotham Gazette’s article from that morning. Apparently Kate’s new beau was a fashionista from France with a taste for wine and travel.

“What? A worldly woman like Angelique?” Luke pressed, confounded at Kate’s remark. She stared back at him with equal dumbfoundedness.

“I said ‘come up with an alibi,’ not ‘write a novel backstory’.” 

“A novel ba - what? I’m talking about  _ Angelique _ \- the 17th Century  woman born into the provincial aristocracy in the west of France? The protagonist of not one, not five, not ten, but  _ thirteen _ classic French novels?!” Luke gaped back.

The significance of the character was lost on Kate. She wasn’t much of a reader in school, and that translated well into adulthood.

“You didn’t have many girlfriends in high school, did you?” Kate countered.

Luke glared at her from across the room, "I'm sure not nearly as many as you."

Kate laughed, nodding in obvious agreement. She glanced at the pile of research left to trudge through, and wasn’t sure she had the energy left to sift through it. She looked up at Luke who seemed to be sharing an intimate moment with the last piece of pizza in the box.

“Oh, just eat it, will you? It’s infected with olives anyway,” Kate broke in, causing him to jump slightly. He grinned and timidly snatched it up. She smirked back, thinking about how much Luke’s company made being Batwoman bearable. With everything going on at the Crows and the real estate hunting, she regretted that their time had dwindled to passing remarks and the occasional late night study session.

"All right, I'm making the executive decision: no more Batwoman tonight. We're taking the night off," Kate announced. 

"Kate, it's 10:30."

"We're taking the  _ rest _ of the night off," Kate corrected, rolling her eyes at Luke's remark. 

"Honestly, after this weekend, I can live with that."

"Great. Because I saw an old N64 up in Bruce's office, and if I know anything about my cousin, it’s that he’ll have a copy of Smash Bros. too."

"Oh! Can I be Kirby? Bruce never let me play Kirby," Luke jumped up, his eyes bright with enthusiasm.

Kate grinned back, "not a chance, Luke."

* * *

Renee Montoya entered through the ground level of the all glass facade with contempt, sneering at the expensive way everyone dressed and the hubris of the over-the-top architecture. So much money was wrapped up in the appearance of the Crows that she wondered how much of their fees actually went to fighting crime.

Just before she clocked out the day prior she had received her formal assignment. It defined her role as special inspector and the authority it carried. For the next few weeks, her job was to oversee the current Crow caseload and, “where applicable and with assurances of her safety” participate in field-based task force events. For her first day, her initial orders were to register at the front desk that morning to formally check in and receive her badge. She had expected it to provide her access past the security gates separating the lobby from the elevators, but instead, after fifteen minutes of filling out paperwork and getting her identification scanned  _ twice _ , she was instead handed a meaningless green badge with the word 'Visitor' on it. 

"What am I supposed to do with this?" She accused the guy behind the counter who had been assisting her.

"I don't know. Wear it?" 

Renee rolled her eyes. "Do you know who I am?"

"You are… Renee Montoya, GCPD," he said, reading from the forms she had just submitted. 

"Exactly. Maybe you didn't get the message, but I'm a special inspector. I can't inspect if you don't give me any clearance."

"Look ma'am," he continued, "I don't make the rules. I just type in your information, and if you're on the list, you get clearance; if you're not on the list, you get that special little green badge, and I call someone from upstairs to pick you up."

"Did you just call me 'ma'am'?" Renee asked, flabbergasted at the suggestion. She almost didn't catch anything past that insult.

"Uh… yes? Look, I can't give you access if you're not on the list. I’ve messaged Sophie Moore to come down and she ca-"

"No need, Jerry. I'm on my way up and can take her," came a voice to Renee's right.

"Ah, mornin’ Kate. And of course, by all means. Ms. er… Montoya, please follow Ms. Kane. She'll take you to where you need to go," Jerry said with a faint smile of relief. He sent a small wink toward Kate in thanks as they parted, and Renee in turn shot him a glare of annoyance. She wasn't done with him.

Looking back she saw that this Kate Kane had already parted and was steps ahead of her. She let out a small grunt of annoyance before hurrying to catch up. After a night of drowning her sorrows in two for one margaritas with Wendy at her local watering hole, she had managed a slight change of heart about her new role. If she was going to be stuck here, she might as well do her best at uncovering the dirty little secrets the Crows kept hidden. To her, they were no better than the GCPD, and she believed this assignment made it her duty to uncover corruption from within like she did as a cop.

"So, Renee, is it?" 

“Yea, what's it to you?” Renee said defensively. Who was this Kate person, and why did she already know who she was? Were all Crows in on the GCPD news? She eyed Kate as they walked through the open security gate; she didn’t dress like anyone she had passed entering the facility. While everyone else was in smart business attire or fit out in task force uniforms, Kate dubbed a black leather jacket over a faded plaid shirt. Her skin-tight jeans were riddled with holes, and her left hand gripped a black motorcycle helmet. If Renee hadn’t just watched her scan a security pass granting entry, she wouldn’t have believed this Kate Kane was in fact a Crow at all. 

“I figured meaningless small talk would be better than an awkward silence, but sounds like the latter is more your cup of tea. So, I’ll finish with ‘welcome to the Crows’.” Kate said, glancing at Renee. To Renee, Kate looked like she was trying to hide a smirk as she entered a waiting elevator. 

Renee followed, slightly perturbed by Kate’s tone. “I’m not staying long,” she said unprompted. She wasn’t sure why she felt the need to declare her plans to leave, but something about being in this space made her want to bounce as fast as possible.

“That’s the hope,” Kate replied casually.

When the doors opened at their floor, Kate stepped forward first and nearly crashed into another woman trying to get on. She watched Kate reflexively extend her hands to avoid a clash, grabbing the upper arms of whoever had tried entering and just as quickly releasing them as though the touch shocked her.

“Sophie,” Kate choked out to the other person who had stepped back into the lobby, taking a moment to recover from the startle. The two exited the elevator, and Renee quickly deduced this was the Sophie Moore that Jerry from downstairs was referring to. She was immediately struck by her rich sepia-brown complexion, chocolate eyes and, after a brief up and down, noted her well-cut blazer and skirt accentuating the curves and shape of her toned body. Based on her limited sampling of two, she wondered if - and hoped that - every woman who worked for the Crows was this attractive. “This is Renee Montoya. Renee, this is Soph-”

“Do you just see established protocol as guidelines, now? Not even a day into this, and already you’re ignoring them," Sophie interrupted, her tone short and accusatory. Renee didn’t know this woman, but she could see she was clearly peeved.

“You know I’ve never been one for following codes of conduct,” Kate replied coolly.

“Cute.”

“Look, I thought I was doing you a favor,” Kate replied, lifting her hands in surrender.

“You think that a lot, but I can’t recall the last time your ‘favor’ didn’t advance your own agenda.”

“Not only is that incredibly subjective, it’s downright Hobbesian.”

“Just - how about next time you want to do me a favor you stay out of my way?” Sophie retorted, her tone cutting through the air like a knife.

“But then I’d miss out on these special moments _ , Soph, _ ” Kate replied, causing Sophie’s eyes to widen in surprise before narrowing back into a scowl of annoyance.

Renee watched these two in amazement. If this was how leadership within the Crows worked, she wondered how it had taken this long for it to be flagged by the city. At the same time, the remarks felt personal and perhaps less of a company-wide work culture; at least that’s what Renee hoped. Although there was a certain enjoyment from watching these two bicker.

“Don’t you have somewhere to be?”

“Actually, I do. So do you. You and I have our weekly debriefing. You’re four minutes late for it, actually,” Kate said, glancing at her watch. “I’ll have to make a note of that.”

“I didn’t agree to that,” Sophie responded, her voice raising in frustration.

“That’s because I didn’t ask, but it’s been on your calendar for a week.”

“I am not attending that. I’m already supplying you weekly summaries - anything more is redundant. If you want, reschedule it for next week.”

“Sophie,” Kate replied, breaking from her banter. Her face suddenly turned serious as she stared at Sophie silently communicating something more than words could say. It made Renee wonder what their relationship was. If she was supposed to be reporting to Sophie, then why was this Sophie person passing information to Kate? After a moment, Sophie let out an exasperated sigh, declaring Kate the winner of their silent discussion. 

“And what am I going to do with... this?” Sophie responded, gesturing at Renee. 

“Hey, I’m a pers-” Renee tried cutting in.

“I’ve got two more coming any minute. What do you propose they do in the meantime?” Sophie continued, ignoring Renee.

“I’m sure there’s another broom closet somewhere you could sacrifice. Just empty it out and toss them in there for the morning.”

* * *

“We couldn’t use the conference room?” Sophie asked, squeezing into Kate’s sad excuse for an office. Kate climbed over her own desk to get to the other side of it while Sophie unfolded a chair stored in the corner.

“Don’t you like my place? It’s such a quaint alternative,” Kate offered, extending an arm as though showing off a grand ballroom. In reality, Kate had chosen her office because she knew it was the one place Margaret hadn’t bugged - a small piece of intel she had acquired at the end of yesterday’s meeting. The only unfortunate thing that came out of it was that Kate found herself second-guessing her previous accusation against Paulie. If Cobblepot had the place wired, she didn’t need some low-level Crow like Paulie for information.

Sophie rolled her eyes at this, clearly annoyed by the entire situation.

“Shut that, will you?” Kate asked, nodding her head at the ajar door.

“Still haven’t learned how?” Sophie quipped back, pressing it closed.

Kate stared back dumbly, feeling her cheeks burn at the reference. Her frustration only grew as she watched Sophie offer an innocent smile and slightly raised eyebrow back at her. An unspoken moment passed between them, both briefly caught up in the past, until Kate finally broke it:

“We need to discuss how to deal with the special inspectors.”

“I’ve already started building out a plan for all three-”

“Two,” Kate corrected.

“Sorry?”

“Cavallo was suspended this morning,” Kate advised.  _ And not a moment too soon, _ she thought. She had seen to it that at least one of Cobblepot’s plants was caught red handed in the middle of their less than savory acts. Cavallo was the easiest to narrow in on for his not-so-subtle dabbling in drug dealings. Luke had managed to correlate a pattern of his dealing spots, and Batwoman did the rest.

“Are you serious?” Sophie asked in shock, quickly moving from relief to concern. “But that just means someone else will be selected to replace him,” she reasoned out loud. “They called for three.”

“And that might be the case if not for the short-staffing the GCPD has been experiencing now that Batwoman has been having her fun exploiting the inner corruption of cops. They’ve put over ten percent of their staff on suspension in the last five months, and they can’t lose more bodies to this audit. It also helps that the Commissioner would rather eat his hat than issue an amended announcement.”

Sophie absorbed Kate’s words. She wasn’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth, but it all felt too good to be true. Of all fifteen names on the list, Kate fought for two who had obvious links to corruption, and then those two appeared alongside Renee Montoya on the assignment. Now it just so happened that Batwoman’s intervention relieved their load by a third. More than that, Kate knew before she did, which made her more skeptical. 

“What’s going on?” Sophie responded. She knew Kate well enough to know when she was withholding - her tendency to deflect was always at an all time high when her goal was to keep something hidden, and Sophie began sensing that this entire morning had been an act to catch Sophie off guard. “This timing is far too perfect.”

“You’re right: the timing  _ is _ too perfect, which means I should ask you the same. You’re the one with Batwoman’s number. Are you telling me you didn’t have her take out Cavallo?” Kate replied coolly.

“Are you serious? You think this was me? I haven’t said anything about this,” Sophie replied, feeling blindsided by Kate’s accusation. It hadn’t occurred to her that Kate would correlate this to her relationship with Batwoman and think  _ she _ was responsible for Cavallo’s suspension. If anything, Sophie was frustrated with herself that she  _ hadn’t _ thought to ask Batwoman for help before today.

“So you  _ are _ still working with her,” Kate continued.

Sophie gaped back at Kate, silently cursing herself. Why was Kate always so on her game about this stuff? Her attention to detail had always gotten the best of Sophie, and this was no exception. She needed to bluff her way out of this, and she needed to do it fast, otherwise Kate would only grow more suspicious: “That depends on what you mean by ‘working’. I wouldn’t say I’m ‘working’ with her in the way you work with a partner. I’m ‘working’ with her so I can collect information on her. Before Jacob left we established a protocol where I continued engaging with Batwoman for the purpose of eventually identifying her and bringing her in,” she said. A part of her was impressed by her ability to lie on the spot as she mentally scrambled to anticipate Kate’s follow-up questions. She knew she'd have a hard time convincing Kate otherwise. After all, Sophie had told her about their kiss from a few weeks back. She hoped that detail had been overshadowed by the rest of the night and would remain overlooked by Kate for the moment.

“I haven’t seen this in your weekly reports,” Kate replied, trying to stay casual while mentally grappling with Sophie’s explanation. She didn’t want to believe it was true, but she also felt like Sophie's performance was too on the nose for it not to have some legs.

“It’s all under the table. The GCPD has their own investigative team searching out Batwoman, and he didn’t want our intel getting prematurely mixed.”

“I see,” Kate responded, nodding thoughtfully. But she didn’t see. Kate’s head was swimming with questions. If this was true, she had to see that information. The last thing she needed was the Crows getting too close to her identity - even it was excluded to just Sophie and Jacob. It also meant she needed to be careful about what Batwoman shared with Sophie until she could verify Sophie’s story was nothing but fiction.

“So in short, no, I didn’t ask her to get involved with this. I wouldn’t reveal that kind of internal information to her in the first place,” Sophie continued. “The last thing I need is her taking actions that might make the Crows more suspect than they already are.” She was trying to toe the line between a convincing performance and not divulging more than she could follow through on later. Her sense was that her performance was working on Kate who had fallen into contemplative silence. "So can we get back to Montoya and Azeveda? They're literally sitting in a closet, and who knows what kind of seven-minutes-in-heaven trouble that'll stir up," Sophie said, trying to pivot to something more trivial.

"Oh yea? Because there's so much happening in this one?" Kate shot back, trying to regain her footing in the conversation. "Besides, given how she eyed you at the elevators, I'd bet my inheritance Montoya is already out of the closet."


	10. Chapter 10

“Check this out!” Luke announced, rolling into Bruce’s office and throwing a copy of the Gotham Gazette onto the coffee table next to the napping form of Kate. 

Kate jumped at the sound, springing up in surprise and doing a once-over of the space ready to take down whatever threat was looming. Once she realized it was just Luke, her mood turned to a dark scowl of disapproval. “What time is it?”

“It’s paper time!” he declared, his smile beaming with excitement.

Kate just stared at him, her glower giving off enough warning that Luke choose his next words carefully.

“It’s just after eight.”

“Uuugh, which means I’m already late. I need to start setting more alarms,” Kate cried, collapsing back onto the couch. “Can you call me in sick? That would reinforce my ‘party animal’ persona, right?”

“Are you just  _ not _ going to check out the paper?” Luke asked, bouncing on the balls of his feet in anticipation. 

The two were clearly on different levels of ‘awake’. Kate begrudgingly leaned forward and slid the paper toward her, examining the headlines.

“ _ Mayor and Wife Celebrate Birth of Twins _ ?”

“What? Oh, no, other side of the fold.”

Kate’s disinterest gaped back at Luke as she flipped the paper open, revealing the lower half of the front page:  _ Up and Coming Real Estate Mogul Purchases Landmark Locations _ .

“Isn’t it great?!” Luke asked, practically beaming with elation. “We’re already getting press around it.”

“So this wasn’t you?” Kate asked with mild surprise. They had discussed issuing a press release when the deal went through, but that was two weeks ago before everything had officially settled.

“No. I mean, someone had called Monday with questions, but I didn’t think they’d go and write a full article about it.”

Luke was referring to the three apartment buildings he and Kate had negotiated the purchase of nearly three weeks earlier. All three were owned by the same cash-strapped developer, and Kate’s ability to pay all cash up front had accelerated the closure. In a matter of days crews would be working their way through each building to renovate it back to livable conditions before offering them up as affordable housing units.

Kate  _ was _ excited by the news: it was a small way Kate Kane could do something for the city. Anymore there was a stark contrast between the kind of press Batwoman and Kate received. Batwoman was the city’s new hero, taking down crime and improving general morale and trust in the system. Kate Kane was a spoiled bachelorette jumping from bed to bed and painting the town with her over the top partying. Apparently this week she had been ‘seen’ with a foreign diplomat’s daughter on her arm in “an obvious rebound from her heartbreaking split with Angelique”.

After weeks of dodging Margaret’s persistent invitations to have Angelique and Kate over for dinner, Kate had to inform her that she had broken it off with the French business woman. Luke seemed more upset by the imaginary break up than anyone: he had committed himself to writing a number of follow-up articles about their relationship that would have to be thrown out. Fortunately, he was chock-full of new ideas for Kate’s life.

Kate’s joy about the news surrounding the building purchases was short-lived as she leaned in to read the article. Instead of honing in on the article about their properties, she instead caught sight of a smaller announcement in the lower left:

**_Gotham Security and Covert Surveillance Announce Merger_ **

_ Following many weeks of closed door negotiations, Theodore Wedgewood, the Founder of Gotham Security, has agreed to purchase Covert Surveillance for $165 million in one of Gotham’s most unprecedented deals in modern history. As part of the merger, Gotham Security will absorb Covert Surveillance’s current infrastructure and adopt three of its five board members. The agreement had been struck nearly two weeks ago but remained on hold until the City of Gotham weighed in on its legality. The approval has permitted both parties to formally announce the deal... _

* * *

“Have you heard?”

“Uh…” Kate stared back at Sophie quizzically. They had run into each in the kitchen - Kate on her way in for a much needed caffeine injection and Sophie on her way out. Kate's plan of avoiding Sophie was ruined when she had sprung the question on Kate. Not only was it unexpected, her tone carried a familiarity and eagerness Kate hadn’t heard from Sophie in the longest time, and for a brief moment, Kate thought she saw the warm side of Sophie come through.

The sharp drop off in their communication hadn’t gone unnoticed: anytime the two appeared in a room together, it would conspicuously clear out in minutes for fear of getting caught up in hostile crossfire. They hadn't intentionally spoken outside of the required window of time that was their weekly meeting in over three weeks, and, as much as Kate hated that, she knew it was for the best; Sophie wasn’t done being angry with her yet, and Kate wasn't sure that would ever change.

“What? Have you?” Sophie pressed.

A small smile betrayed Kate’s practiced stoicism. “ _ Context _ , Sophie.”

Sophie paused, realizing her error before breaking into a grin and shaking her head in self-exasperation. “The - the news about…” she began, glancing around before continuing, “about Gotham Security and Covert Surveillance?”

“Oh, tha-”

“Morning everyone,” came a voice from behind Sophie. Sophie’s posture turned rigid as she promptly stepped away from Kate, reverting to the familiar cool demeanor Kate had come to know as she turned and watched Renee walk into the kitchen.

“I didn’t know they let you out of your cage,” Kate remarked, taking the distraction to grab a mug and reach for the pot of coffee.

“Only for full moons and coffee breaks,” Renee quipped back, ignoring the critical stare coming from Sophie. “Nice article by the way, Kane.”

“Er… thanks, Renee,” Kate replied awkwardly, now looking for an opportunity to slip out of the kitchen and get back to her own cage. 

Sophie’s eyebrows rose with sarcastic wonder. “Another article? What was it this time? Get into another bar fight? Date another princess? Destroy another storefront?"

"I didn't realize you were such a fan," Kate replied, trying to deflect Sophie's accusations.

"Or better yet, rob a bank? I hear the poverty line has dropped - would be in your interest to strike now.”

“Gotta replenish those coffers,” Kate said, passively playing along with Sophie's new view of her. “Now, if you ladies will excuse me, I’ve got my own hole to crawl back into.”

Sophie watched Kate exit, only realizing when it was too late that she hadn’t answered her original question. She cursed herself for letting her frustration get the better of her the one time she actually thought they might find common ground.

The news of the merger had come from Paulie the night before and was confirmed by all the major media outlets that morning. After the night outside the Crow’s facility when Kate suggested Cobblepot was up to no good, Sophie decided that, while she didn't yet believe Kate's theory, it would do well to look into it. Instead of revealing to Paulie what Kate had said, she had simply told him she was interested in outsourcing some of the Crows' surveillance jobs and asked him to keep an ear to the ground for useful bits that might help narrow the field.

“I get your deal with old man Jacob, but your problem with Kate makes no sense to me, Soph,” Renee observed after Kate left. “She seems pretty cool.”

To say Kate's approval rating over the last few weeks had plummeted would be an understatement. Sophie stared back at Renee's comment in surprise. 

“It’s  _ Sophie _ , not  _ Soph _ , and that’s because you aren’t dealing with the spoiled party animal version who couldn't give a damn about compromise or helping better what we do. She’s an intermediary until this audit -  _ your work _ \- is done and we can get back to real assignments. She’s been nothing but an obstacle and is no better than Cobblepot is for Gotham.” 

Renee cocked her head to the side and grinned. "You're cute when you're angry. You’re also way off base about Kate."

"Excuse me?" Sophie replied, caught off guard by the remark.

"I said," Renee started, "You're cute when you're angry. You have a severity about you - it's, it's actually quite sexy… I take it back; your reaction was merited - 'cute' was definitely the wrong word."

“And I thought we agreed you’d keep your remarks to a minimum during business hours,” Sophie muttered through a blush as she glanced around to confirm their privacy remained.

Instead of backing down, Renee walked over to Sophie, pressing her lips close to her ear. “But where’s the fun in that, babe,” she whispered, sliding her hand onto Sophie’s ass before giving it a light squeeze and walking out of the room, leaving Sophie both speechless and breathless.

Over the last three weeks, Sophie and Renee's proximity had gone from cold and distant to… something more. They had initially worked closely together out of Sophie’s distrust of any GCPD handling sensitive Crow information. After two days of hawkishly auditing both Montoya and Azveda, she realized she had no time to do her own work which meant peeling one of them off her plate was necessary. That turned out to be Azeveda. The decision had been easy - Sophie couldn't stand his sexist, xenophobic remarks, so she offered him to Paulie to deal with which left Sophie with Renee. Day three had been cold and business as usual until a short conversation about where to order dinner turned into an hour long banter about Gotham’s best take-out spots. This broke the ice, and by day five they were staying late not because of the workload, but because they were enjoying each other’s company a little too much.

Sophie found Renee to be quite a resilient spitfire and enjoyed how she would come up with wild theories about various cases that, while implausible, had actually led to uncovering new leads. There was a no-nonsense honesty about how Renee worked that Sophie found compelling, and, after their fifth day together, she found herself wondering why Renee had never considered becoming a Crow. 

It was on the second Tuesday, day six, of working together that Renee had been especially provocative in her commentary. She had just discovered the Duela Dent case and was offering vivid details of her theory that Duela was secretly part of a team of former Arkham inmates working together to take down the city using a combination of the Riddler’s left-over gadgets and Mr. Freeze’s Ice Gun.

Sophie had lost count of the number of eyerolls she’d given Renee that day, but this one topped it: instead of an eyeroll, Sophie was laughing so hard tears were running down her cheeks.

“And how exactly does a sex ring fit into this?” Sophie asked between laughs.

“I figured it was the only way you’d broach the topic.”

“The topic?”

“Sex. I’m talking about sex.”

"Are you always this direct?" Sophie asked, her cheeks burning with embarrassment.

Renee smiled and glanced down. "I've been told it's a fault."

"It's not," Sophie responded, "it suits you."

"So then you won't be surprised if I ask you out for a drink," Renee said, a mischievous smirk dancing across her face.

In fact Sophie  _ was _ surprised, but she liked it - she liked Renee.

"Is that you asking, or should I wait?"

"Oh, yea, shit, I mean, that  _ was _ me asking. But it didn't really come out as like, a question about drinking - it was more a question about being surpri-"

"I'd like that."

* * *

"And so then they moved me to Captain Morgan's precinct, and he's been super great," Renee said, regaling Sophie with her history at the GCPD.

“Captain Morgan? That’s his  _ actual  _ name?” Sophie laughed.

“Yea, and don’t get me started on how many puns that man tries to make out of it.”

Sophie had listened with amazement. Renee was an uncompromising fighter, and her escapades to take down Gotham's worst was awe-inspiring. Sophie was surprised she wasn’t either dead or missing.

"So why are you at the GCPD? Why not enlist with the Crows?" Sophie finally asked. It had been on her mind for days, but it felt strange to bring up at work where Renee’s job was to objectively review the Crow’s work.

Renee broke out in laughter as Sophie stared in confusion. "No offense, but I'm not in this for the elite. I became a cop to help the little guy. Soon enough I'll become Detective and can take on cases that really matter. Crows don't do that - they take on whatever the big dogs pay them to take on."

“That’s not true,” Sophie challenged. They had danced around this topic for a week, and Sophie was ready to tackle it head on. “Do we have high-profile clients? Yes. But their fees support over seventy percent of our caseload. Nearly forty percent of all cases the Crows take on are pro-bono, and the remainder is at severely reduced rates for those with able but limited income.”

Renee looked at Sophie thoughtfully, seeing Sophie’s impassioned stance. “Forty percent? Hmm, that surprises me. I, Renee Maria Montoya, will admit it: I am surprised. But, your cute little monologue doesn’t excuse the string of raids that have blatant disregard for bystander safety. In the last year, you know how many buildings have been erroneously blown up by the GCPD? Zero. And how many by the Crows?”

“I’m not saying we’re saints. And I’m definitely never going to condone those actions as long as I’m Lead Crow. I’ve already implemented a policy that eliminates any use of explosives on future cases. I can’t fix what Jacob Kane did, but I can make sure it doesn’t happen again,” Sophie replied with an intensity similar to when she appeared in front of the board two weeks back.

Renee was silent in response. She observed Sophie’s demeanor. It was impassioned and loyal to her beliefs. It wasn’t a set of traits she was used to seeing in people - especially not people who worked for the GCPD.

"I'm going to probably kiss you soon, by the way" Renee said casually.

Sophie nearly choked on her drink in response. She suddenly felt more nervous than she had since… well, since her night at the bar with Kate. She forced down her nerves, trying to give off a casualness she had never mastered. "For someone as direct as you, I'm surprised you didn't just do it," she said, trying to sound indifferent.

"Yea, normally I would, but you've been glancing around the bar ever since we got here, so my guess is this isn't exactly your style. Thought I'd give you the chance to reject me, first." 

Sophie glanced at Renee, annoyed that her nervousness was that obvious but also touched that Renee would consider her discomfort with the situation.

"You're almost too astute…" Sophie began, weighing how much to share before finally deciding to go all-in. "I guess… I guess there are two reasons. The first is maybe the most obvious: I’m Lead Crow out having drinks with someone from the GCPD special inspections team. It wouldn’t do well to fraternize with someone whose job it is to audit me.”

“Oh, I’ll audit you,” Renee responded with an insinuatingly cheesy grin and raised eyebrow that caused Sophie’s cheeks to burn. “Fair point though,” Renee continued, bypassing the first remark as though never said. “At the moment though we’ve kept it professional looking enough, so even if someone we knew  _ did _ come in, we could pass it off as an after-hours onboarding session. But you’re right - I suppose I’ll have to take you down some dark alley before I can kiss you proper then.”

Sophie was having a hard time not finding Renee’s directness and confidence insanely attractive. On a Subconscious level they were the same qualities that had attracted her Kate years ago, and seeing them in someone like Renee was refreshing. For as much as Sophie’s role at work demanded an authoritative temperament, she had found Kate’s control and decisiveness in their relationship arousing. It was something missing from her relationship with Tyler, but having Renee here and vocally affirming what Sophie was feeling reminded her how impactful it was.

“So, what’s reason number two?” Renee asked, pulling Sophie from her thoughts.

“Well… If I’m honest...”

“That’s definitely my preferred way of communicating,” Renee teased. 

Sophie smiled and relaxed slightly. “I've only ever dated one girl, and… and that was years ago. So you might say my experience with women is… limited. And I've only actually just come out, but only to a handful of people, and I-"

"Say no more. I get it. I've been out since high school, but I get it. My last ex came out three months before we started dating, so I’m not new to being with someone fresh off the boat."

Sophie let out a breath she didn’t realize she had been holding in. They'd been at the bar for over three hours but Sophie felt like it had passed in an instant. That had been a common theme over the last week when it came to Renee. She had a lightheartedness about her that Sophie felt relaxed around. The tension from earlier had quickly washed away when they both realized they were fighting for the same thing but in different ways. Renee had grown up on the hardened streets of Gotham and watched the Batman signal from her window at night while Sophie had grown up in Gotham’s suburbs, but both saw the deep-seeded distrust the citizens had in law enforcement. Batman had worked for years to rebuild that relationship, but his sudden departure had sent that work spiraling back to a regressed state of distrust. Sophie saw a way to rebalance that from the outside as a Crow while Renee wanted to change it from within the GCPD.

They worked their way from topic to topic - discussing their childhood, their plan for Gotham, and even sports teams. In all of these they found similarities albeit done in their own way: both were top of their class, but while Sophie was attentive and studious, Renee challenged her teachers and frequently ended up in detention for, according to her, “being right.” 

Everything had been going well until just over an hour into the night the topic of Batwoman was broached. Sophie was taken aback to learn Renee did not endorse Batwoman’s antics. When Sophie pressed Renee for an explanation, she pointed out that Batwoman had made no attempt to coordinate with the GCPD, and, more than that, she didn’t like the idea of another symbol of hope being taken from the city of Gotham.

“It just feels like she’s in it for the wrong reasons,” Renee reasoned. “With Batman, I always knew he was there to protect everyone, but it feels like Batwoman chooses her battles differently - like there’s an agenda. She’s been more interested in trying to call out GCPD for all of its corrupt actions than letting the GCPD build it from the inside out. Now all the people of Gotham see is a symbol pointing at the badge and saying ‘they’re the bad guys’.”

Sophie stayed mostly silent, unsure how to navigate the conversation without revealing too much about her workings with Batwoman. She disagreed with Renee but found some of her points informing. She hadn’t considered how the tone of Batwoman cleaning house could impact the public’s view of the GCPD. To her, Batwoman was doing the city a favor, but where she saw good, others might not. Instead of challenging Renee’s opinions, she chose the silent route, letting the conversation transition to something lighter.

Renee polished off the rest of her drink before turning to Sophie, “so, what now? Happy hour ended… mmm, about two hours ago.”

“Oh, uh - well, it’s getting late… we should probably call it a nigh-”

“Oh, Moore, that was a trick question” Renee interrupted. “My place is a block from here.”

* * *

That night at Renee’s had been over a week ago, and every other night since had been at Sophie’s. After leaving Renee’s place that first morning, she found herself second guessing her decision: Renee was a special inspector as part of the Crow-wide audit. If anyone found out or suspected Sophie was in bed with someone from the team sent to review their company, it would spell disaster for her career and the future of the company. She spent the walk to her place and then to work preparing her speech to tell Renee the night before had been amazing but couldn’t happen again. When Renee arrived to work that morning, Sophie had called her into her office, ready to give her talk but instead Renee came barreling in with ten reasons why they shouldn’t stop seeing each other. 

Sophie sat through each reason, listening to Renee’s impassioned argument slowly running out of reasons to say no, and after months of uncertainty and back and forth with Kate, she felt a sense of belonging with Renee that made her feel grounded in the world.

“Sophie, I'm talking to you.”

The frustrated voice came from Kate who had arrived in Sophie’s office asking why Sophie had bailed on their weekly meeting for the second week in a row. Kate's annoyance was evident.

"Right. Didn't we move that?" Sophie asked, feigning ignorance as she tried to come up with a more legitimate excuse. She hadn’t meant to bail again, but all of her recent… distractions… had her forgetting some of the most basic things.

Sophie watched Kate roll her eyes from the doorway. “I  _ get _ that this isn’t how you’d like to spend your time, Sophie, but like I said before, this isn’t up to you  _ or me _ . I'll cover for you this week, but you need to get it together by Monday, or the board is going to step in with their own measures,” Kate said before leaving, slamming the door behind her.

* * *

"What about Sophie?" Luke asked, "she might be able to help us track down some of them."

Luke was referring to a new batch of patients that had recently been released from Arkham. Thanks to their stolen files, they could trace every single one of them back to Dr. Butler, and they were brainstorming ways to fast track locating them.

Luke looked expectantly at Kate who had fallen quiet at the mention of Sophie. This had become a theme of hers, and Luke had already started wondering if there was more to it than Kate was letting on.

"Kate?"

"Yea, that's an option," Kate replied half-heartedly. "I'm sure we could do a lot of the legwork ourselves, though. No need to bring in a third party."

"There are ten new releases. You want the two of us to try doing this work ourselves? We have renovations to oversee and you have a full time gig with the Cro-"

"I know that Luke," Kate cut in. The two stared at each other, unspeaking for a minute as they both weighed their next words. After weeks of this, Luke was experienced enough now to know the topic of Sophie struck a nerve with Kate, but he still didn’t know why.

"You gotta let me in, Kate. I don't know what's going on, but this doesn’t work if you aren't honest with me."

Kate sighed, knowing Luke was right. She had lost track of the number of times Luke suggested reaching out to Sophie only to have Kate shoot it down. First it was because Kate couldn’t imagine facing Sophie after what she did to her weeks ago, but now it was because Kate was afraid Sophie’s latest revelation held some truth to it. After Sophie had alluded to Kate in private that she was tracking Batwoman, Kate struggled with how to handle it. She had weighed the pros and cons of telling Luke earlier, but had hoped to gather actual evidence before presenting him with the possibility that Sophie wasn't the ally they thought she was. Instead, she had been stonewalled in all of her efforts which only reinforced her worry that Sophie couldn't be trusted.

"A couple weeks ago, I was confronting Sophie about her working with Batwoman," Kate began. "It was meant to be a test - to make sure Sophie would stay vigilant about how she did or didn't mention Batwoman, but… but she said something that didn’t sit right with me… normally I can read Sophie, but that day - that conversation..."

"What did she say?" Luke pressed, his imagination running wild with speculation.

"I think there’s a chance she's working with my dad to uncover Batwoman's identity."

Luke collapsed back into his chair. He stared thoughtfully for a moment, trying to grapple with this revelation. "And you're sure?"

"I'm not  _ not _ sure, which has me unsure enough to be sure until… well, until there’s evidence that I can be sure about being unsure."

Luke nodded, understanding Kate's noncommittal gibberish. 

"I take it this is off the record?"

"That's my read on it. I’ve only got high-level access to the Crows’ server, so even if it is on the record, I won’t find it. One bit that has me thinking you're right is that she said the GCPD is running a similar investigation and Jacob doesn't want information leaked to their network just yet."

"The GCPD, too? Shit, Kate."

"I know," Kate replied, watching him mentally go through the same scenarios she had spent the last weeks analyzing.

"What if we tested her?" Luke offered, noting Kate’s critical face before quickly continuing. "Think about it, she might have been trying to get you off her back, and this was her best option. What if we play out a few situations, and if she passes those, maybe we can trust her.”

“If she passes,  _ maybe _ we can trust her? Luke, I’ve known you to be hedgy, but you aren’t giving me much confidence.”

“She said a minute after reinventing the word,” Luke countered.

“Ha ha,” Kate mocked in reply. “So how do you propose we do this then, Mr. Ideas?”

* * *

“I’m not trying to pick a fight, I just genuinely don’t understand what your deal is with her. You’re able to get along with some of the most pompous aresholes at your job, but the moment Kate walks in the room, it literally drops five degrees.”

Sophie’s head poked up from behind the counter. “Figuratively,” Sophie corrected, before returning to the task of filling the dishwasher. It was late, and they’d just finished up dinner and a movie when Renee brought up the morning’s incident in the Crow’s kitchen. 

“No, babe, I mean  _ literally _ . I’ve never seen anyone shoot ice out of her eyes, but somehow you’ve done it. Mr. Freeze would be jealous if he knew.”

“It’s complicated,” Sophie replied, not wanting to have this discussion again. 

“Yes, ‘it’s complicated’. We all know  _ it’s complicated _ , but just because she’s Jacob’s daughter doesn’t mean she’s a completely horrible wretch. I mean, today’s paper is a shining example of that.”

“Again with the article, Renee? You talk about it like she’s some saint!” Sophie shouted, her last ounce of tolerance for the day being depleted. She hadn’t read the article, but hearing Renee make yet another reference to it was the tipping point.

A silence rang through the apartment. Renee understood she had overstepped, sensing that the last thing Sophie wanted to do after a full day of work was be psychoanalyzed for her opinion of someone who, to Sophie, existed only to make her life a living nightmare.

“I’m sorry,” Renee said, walking up behind Sophie, interrupting the pan she was washing. Renee wrapped her arms around Sophie’s waist and rested her head against her shoulder. “I just don’t like that she gets you all worked up. It's like she has this power over you, Soph."

“Sophie,” she corrected tersely.

“Right… sorry,” Renee replied defeatedly.

Sophie remained silent and unwavering against Renee’s warmth. There were two reasons for it: the first was that she was genuinely irritated that this was the third time Renee had pressed the topic of her and Kate’s work relationship. The second was that she hadn’t been completely honest with Renee about who Kate was to her, and that ate at her. Parts of their history had been shared, yes, but in all instances, certain facts were blanketed from truth. 

Renee knew Kate was Jacob’s daughter and that they had been at Point Rock together. She also knew Sophie’s first and only girlfriend was a student from Point Rock, but Sophie had never connected the dots. Instead, she let Renee draw her own conclusions that the two were mutually exclusive. 

In turn, Sophie had spent the last week convincing herself she was keeping it a secret out of worry about Renee’s reaction if she found out the one person that could unwind Sophie was also her ex-girlfriend. In the back of her mind she knew this wasn’t entirely truthful either.

“It’s fine,” Sophie finally said. “And you’re right. I shouldn’t let it bother me so much.”

She turned around to face Renee trying to hide the worry on her face.

“All right,” Renee said, “I’m off to bed. This face needs all the beauty rest it can get!”

Sophie’s face broke into a smile at this, allowing Renee to pump her fist in success.

“Ha, see! Self-deprecation always works,” she teased before reaching up and giving Sophie’s cheek a kiss. “Join me?”

“In a bit,” she replied.

“Suit yourself, but just know you’re gonna miss out on all of this,” she said, dramatically gesturing to herself.

Sophie watched Renee strut into the bedroom, imagining curling up next to her before nodding off, but her restlessness wouldn’t let that thought linger long. The last few weeks wore heavy on her mind, and the one thing Sophie was no good at was compartmentalizing work from her free time.

She looked around at the flat, trying to find a distraction until she was too tired to keep going when her eyes settled on the bar cart. It held a rarely used set of bottles she had collected over the years. She had established early in her childhood that a true sign of being an adult was to have a bar cart. As a kid she remembered visiting her grandparents, and set proudly in the corner of their living room was one with modest offerings. There was nothing high end about it, but Sophie’s grandfather would always offer it up to passing guests. It had been cemented in her that being able to do the same was what being an adult was, so she had bought one when shortly after moving into her first apartment after graduation.

Sophie wandered over to it, surveying the partially used beverages before her eyes settled on a recently opened bottle. It had been intended as a graduation gift for Kate four years earlier, but after things between them quickly dissolved, it had unwittingly been left as a strange souvenir of their relationship. Instead of getting rid of it, she lugged it around with her year after year, apartment after apartment. At one point Tyler had wondered aloud why she even had it if she didn’t like it. It wasn’t that Sophie didn’t like it: after years of trying it, Sophie had grown to appreciate the smoky slap that came with the whisky, but opening it without Kate never felt like an option. Then came the fateful night all those weeks ago when the opportunity to break the seal came.

She walked back to the couch, collapsing on it with a sigh and a pour of the whisky. She contemplated throwing on the news when a copy of the Gotham Gazette caught her eye. She didn’t subscribe to it, but Renee read it religiously. To Sophie, the writing was inconsistent and downright unreliable; she’d lost track of the number of mis-reportings about Crow cases.

She glanced back at the bedroom door, listening for any sound that Renee might still be up and about. When she felt confident Renee was soundly tucked in, Sophie grabbed the stack of paper. It didn’t take long to find the article - it’s front page placement made it hard to miss:  _ Up and Coming Real Estate Mogul Purchases Landmark Locations _ .

“Of course,” she muttered to herself, imagining the high-end real estate Kate had acquired before delving into the article. 

She continued reading with an air of skepticism, waiting for her assumptions to be proven right. Instead, it took less than a minute before she found herself speechless. The article immediately dove into the history of the sites, elaborating on the ambitious plans by the previous developer to usher in a new age of real estate that would effectively gentrify poorer neighborhoods of Gotham, but the sudden disappearance of Batman and the ensuing riots left the sites empty and barren for years. Cue Kate Kane and her inherited fortunes: not only was she buying up the properties to renovate them, she was doing it at a  _ loss _ . The cost of the land, existing structure, and speculative repair costs would never be offset by the rent income because the intent was to offer them up as rent-controlled units:

_ Ms. Kane was unable to comment for the article, but her business partner, Luke Fox, confirmed Gotham’s findings, citing plans to begin renovations once necessary construction permits were approved.  _

The article was less than 500 words in total, but in those few short paragraphs, Sophie’s world felt turned upside down. Not quite believing it, she reread every word of it again, and then, after taking a sip from her glass, read it a third time. She had spent the last three weeks convinced that Kate had become the worst version of herself: a partying, money-focused shell of a person looking out for the interests of the politically minded and power-hungry. She had squelched any idea that Kate’s motives were to benefit Gotham, but this piece jarred all of that thinking.

She stared at the paper, reflecting on what she’d just read when she saw the merger announcement between Gotham Security and Covert Surveillance. Gotham Gazette would have been better off printing in massive block letters  _ TOLD YOU SO _ . She felt the stinging sensation at the corners of her eyes, and she blinked the looming tears back in frustration. After weeks of back and forth, she had all but given up on Kate, convincing herself that she wasn’t the person she’d once been in love with. Now, all of those feelings of anger, annoyance, frustration, and disappointment were converging into feelings of surprise, doubt, and regret. She had let her pride get the better of her, stubbornly rejecting any evidence that Kate was still the same supportive figure she’d come to know her as. Now all Sophie could do was hope she was just as forgiving, realizing she’d be chowing down on a big plate of Crow the next morning.

* * *

Batwoman landed on the familiar terrace for the first time in weeks. Her communication with Sophie had, like Kate, also stymied, but mostly out of precaution: Kate wasn’t willing to risk her identity being revealed if Sophie really was working with her dad. She would regularly think back to their previous meet-ups and try recalling any specific information that may be clues to her identity. Nothing obvious came to mind, but that didn’t mean anything: she had grown relaxed and reckless around Sophie. That meant a forgettable slip of the tongue could be the difference between keeping Batwoman’s identity a secret or not.

For this trip, she came equipped with a curated script. Her and Luke had spent the evening strategizing how to keep the conversation social but controlled. Unfortunately for Kate, her arrival at Sophie’s was marked by Luke telling her he needed to sign off. An alarm had just gone off at one of their properties and, not yet having security set up, that meant the task was left to them to deal with. This also meant he wouldn’t be in her ear guiding the conversation should it fall off the rails.

Part of her was excited to be there. She missed Sophie, and, aside from the obviously looming threat of her or Jacob figuring out who Batwoman was, the thought of seeing her sent butterflies flurrying. The last few weeks had been hard to handle; Sophie and Kate were both stubborn, especially when it came to each other, but even in that there wasn’t much they couldn’t work through. This time was different though. Kate’s job, whether Sophie accepted it or not, was to play the role of Cobblepot’s ally. That meant doing things that Sophie felt were invasive or undermined her authority as Lead Crow. If Kate did anything less than appear compliant with Cobblepot, a more reliable board member would swoop in and take on the direct oversight which would have very real consequences for Sophie and the task force.

Kate had tried explaining this to Sophie twice, but both times it dissolved into a fighting match over Kate’s lack of honesty and trust. It wasn’t like Sophie to hold a grudge for this long - Kate had recalled their longest fight lasting weeks in their first year, but that was more to do with Kate refusing to admit she was wrong than Sophie’s refusal to forgive. Kate knew her mistake in kissing Sophie was holding lasting consequences for their relationship.

She shook herself from her thoughts, beginning to also feel the all-too familiar sense of dread that came with loitering on Sophie’s terrace slowly creeping into the anticipated conversation.

Since Luke had begun tracking the latest releases from Dr. Butler’s list of patients, he had discovered one ongoing thread: no one from their group of friends or families had been notified of their releases. In fact, no one had even  _ heard _ from the patients following their releases. Luke’s undercover work was limited given his means, but if the Crows were able to reach out to the respective families and get approval to open a case, they could progress the investigation exponentially. That’s what Kate was here to try getting Sophie to agree to. 

“What are you doing here?” came a whisper from the terrace door. Kate watched the shadow of Sophie exit the apartment onto the outdoor space. 

“I was… is that Scot-?” Kate began before catching herself. Sophie had emerged dressed in her old Point Rock sweatshirt clutching a glass of whisky, and Kate momentarily forgot it wasn’t years earlier.

“Is that ‘what’?” Sophie asked, still whispering but now looking at Batwoman with added perplexion. She hadn’t seen Batwoman in weeks, and their phone communication had been limited to minute-long excuses from Batwoman that she hadn’t uncovered any new information. Now she stood unplanned and unannounced on her terrace.

“Nothing. Sorry,” Kate began a little too forcefully, “I know this wasn't planned, but I wanted to-"

“Can you keep your voice down?” Sophie said suddenly. It was then that Kate noticed Sophie hadn’t stopped glancing back toward the interior.

“Does Sophie Moore have a guest?” Kate teased. 

Kate expected Sophie to roll her eyes or throw out a sarcastic remark, but instead Kate watched Sophie hesitate in uncertainty as she silently opened and closed her mouth, at a clear loss for words. She looked like a deer in the headlights, trapped between fleeing and coming clean.

“Oh…” was all Kate could respond with.

Kate Kane had spent her life adapting and training for every obstacle and risk she could think of, but not once did that include preparing for the gut-punch she had just taken by Sophie Moore’s silence. She was not prepared for this, and an indescribable tightness tugged at her chest as she watched Sophie continue to flounder for words.

“It’s… it’s new,” Sophie said, still searching for how to justify someone in her bed to Batwoman. She didn’t owe her an explanation for her personal life, but she suddenly felt the need to apologize - for what exactly, she wasn’t sure. For not telling her sooner? For having someone else at all? 

“You don’t need to explain,” Kate interjected, trying to smile while suddenly wanting to get as far away from the apartment as possible. She felt claustrophobic and confused.  _ Of course she would move on _ , she scolded herself. It made sense, but Kate couldn’t comprehend logic. Instead, she felt like her heart was racing a mile an hour and simultaneously splitting in two. “I’m sorry - I’ll go. We can… this - we can do this another time.”

Disoriented, Kate felt an emptiness take over followed by a wave of emotion that quickly translated into tears. Sophie looked like she might disagree but instead nodded silently. Her look of discomfort made Kate want to leave even faster. She silently turned away not wanting to risk Sophie catch sight of the first tear fall.

“See you around, Sophie,” she called, trying to keep her voice clear as she shot her grappling hook toward an adjacent building, not daring to look back.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all,
> 
> If you haven't checked out the two prequels from the 'Becoming Batwoman' series yet, go give them a try! I update the prequels in tandem with this timeline, and they all work together to help better understand some of the relationships. Since the prequels have focused on Point Rock, they center primarily on Kate and Sophie's relationship, but in time it'll include other characters, too.
> 
> Thanks for giving this a read; I hope you're enjoying it as much as I enjoy writing it!
> 
> Cheers, ETQ.95

“And she wasn’t there?” Luke asked, out of breath.

“Nope,” Kate replied, struggling under the weight of the couch. It was nearly two in the morning, and they were in the middle of negotiating a sofa up the egress stair of the heavy-timber property they’d just taken possession of. It was the last item in the truck, and Kate had run out of stamina an armchair, a table, and three chairs ago.

Luke had returned to Wayne Tower from his unplanned engagement with their latest property purchase just as Kate had changed out of her batsuit. After surveying the damage and filing a police report, he had returned to inform her that the break in had resulted in a bunch of copper plumbing pipes being looted, setting their timeline back at least an extra week. They weren’t scheduled to begin renovations on the building for another week, and the risk of leaving it vacant that long didn’t sit well with either of them. Fortunately the other two structures were in less precarious neighborhoods which meant hiring security for them had been a breeze.

To remedy this third location, Kate proposed a temporary move resulting in their late-night furniture unload. Kate and Luke would alternate taking turns babysitting the building until adequate security could be established. Fortunately there was a line of electricity available for use.  _ Un _ fortunately, that didn’t tie into the elevator, which meant unpacking was through the stairwell.

“Is that weird?” Luke continued between gasps.

“What?” Kate asked, distracted by the sharp corner they were translating around.

“It was like… midnight and…she wasn’t home?” Luke pondered aloud, heaving out of breath. “Isn’t that weir-ooph!”

Kate had halted abruptly, causing Luke to run right into the now stationary edge of the couch. She was staring at him in annoyance. “How about this: let’s get the damn couch up to the loft,  _ then _ we can debrief, ok?”

Luke nodded, shelving his curiosity as he rubbed his side.

“You ok?” Kate asked half apologetically, half out of worry that he’d be out of commission and she’d be stuck moving the couch the rest of the way.

“I think so, but if I get a bruise I’m pressing charges,” Luke joked.

“For what?” Kate gaped, lifting her end of the couch again.

“Domestic violence?” Luke reasoned. “We’re practically living together now.”

* * *

Sophie sat in the dark, her face lit by the glowing laptop screen she was furiously clicking through. She’d been thrown by Batwoman’s appearance on her terrace earlier that night and worried she’d missed something important by sending her away. Instead of waiting, she had taken it upon herself to scan through the different files related to Duela Dent trying to find an update that might help clarify what Batwoman was up to.

It took nearly an hour for the pieces to come together: she realized an additional batch of patients had been released from Arkham in the last week, and, as expected, they were all  Dr. Randolph Butler’s patients. She was searching the GCPD database to confirm their records and gather information about their current whereabouts. A requirement of all recently-released patients is to submit, among other things, an address where they’d be taking up residence. Sophie figured if she could coordinate this information, she might be able to get a team together the next day to begin initial rounds of questioning. She was still in the dark about a lot to do with Duela, and her lack of activity was making her hard to track. She’d received no updates from Batwoman’s progress over the last few weeks, but Sophie was beginning to think their earlier theory about a larger plan at play was starting to gain traction.

“Babe, what are you still doing up?”

Sophie jolted at Renee’s voice coming from the bedroom door. 

“Just some light case work,” Sophie offered. “I’m almost done.”

“Pssh, no you aren’t,” Renee countered, trudging sleepily over to the table where Sophie was set up. Although it had only been a short time, Renee was already conditioned to expect Sophie in bed after her. For Renee it wasn’t necessarily a problem in the short term; her and Sophie had agreed to take things slow and, contrary to practically sleeping together every night, they weren’t actually  _ sleeping _ together. At least, not yet, and that’s what had Renee hesitate about Sophie: she was already in a committed relationship with her work. Renee didn’t doubt Sophie meant well, but part of her wondered how that would play out with their relationship. “You’ve got your ‘I’m not sleeping until I solve this’ tone. So, just tell me what you’ve got so far.”

Renee pulled out the chair next to Sophie and plopped down waiting for Sophie to fill her in.

“Are you sure we’ve only been dating for two weeks?” Sophie asked, noting the strange accuracy with which Renee observed things about her, “Or am I just that easy to read?”

“So  _ that’s _ what we’re doing? Dating?” Renee gushed. The room was still in darkness, but Renee could easily make out the discomfort on Sophie’s face. “Oh, calm down. I’m only teasing. Mostly it’s the latter. It also helps that you’re so obviously obsessed with your work that it’s easy enough to infer you’d put this over things like food, sleep, sex… you know, normal stuff.”

Sophie shook her head dismissively as she opened another set of files on the computer.

"What's that?" Renee asked, reaching for the glass next to Sophie. It was on its third refill, and Sophie noted the portions were slowly getting bigger and bigger with each pour. 

"Oh, it's just something from the cart," Sophie said casually. 

"It smells… it smells weird," she said, bringing the glass to her nose. "May I?"

Sophie had to consciously keep her hand on the table from snatching the glass back and stop herself from saying no. It would be strangely hostile to tell Renee she couldn’t have any, and it would be even harder to explain why. Instead, she forced herself to shrug indifferently. 

"You should start with a-"

"Oh! This… this is terrible!"

"-small sip." Sophie had watched as Renee shoot back the rest of the glass like a well drink at the corner bar. A small wave of annoyance crashed through her, and she suddenly felt defensive. It was such a trivial thing, but something about how it was so dismissively tossed back felt disrespectful.

"You drink this? For fun?" Renee continued, moving her tongue around inside her mouth as though it would rid her taste buds of the memory. 

"You could say it's an acquired taste," Sophie said slowly, not wanting to let her annoyance carry into her tone.

"Well I say it's awful. I never want that again."

"Hmm," was all Sophie responded with, returning her attention to the laptop, silently disagreeing with Renee's opinion but also happy to know the rest of the bottle was safe.

* * *

“What are you doing?” Kate asked from the armchair.

“I think the couch would look better in front of the fireplace,” Luke replied as the scraping of the legs against the wood floor rang through the empty space.

Kate rolled her eyes. “How about we feng shui tomorrow? It’s nearly three, and with our luck, tomorrow will be the day some imminent disaster is set in motion, and Batwoman won’t be up to snuff because she was too busy moving an armchair the night before to get any rest.”

“That's some first season-level foreshadowing, Kate. We’re better than that. Besides, it was your decision to take all the furniture.”

Luke wasn’t wrong. He continued sliding the couch across the space while muttering under his breath about her abusing his cheap labor. Kate chuckled lightly at his discontent. They had effectively gutted her current rental of all big items and set them up in the penthouse unit. To Kate, it was the perfect safe house: limited activity around the area, and no current tenants. She was growing sick of the shadowy batcave and thought the all-glass walls would be the perfect contrast for a short while. After some arm-twisting, she got Luke to agree.

The space was definitely sparse with furnishes. The penthouse construction had barely begun when the site was shut down years ago, and there were no finishings. The blank canvas made it the perfect space for Kate. Over the course of the move, Kate slowly found herself liking it more and more, imagining different fit-outs for it. Fortunately basic plumbing had been established, but the full partition fit-out was incomplete, and Kate had ideas for how to redesign the layout. It helped that it was the top unit and not beholden to loading walls. The heavy timber columns penetrated the space at a constant module and created a slow rhythm to the space.

“Who knows, I might just stay,” Kate observed. “Which means your redecorating is scratching up my floor.” 

* * *

"So you think Butler is involved in something sinister, and that's why he's releasing these patients? They're his little army?"

"Maybe. A contact of mine was meant to follow up about some side research, but we haven't been able to connect in weeks."

"A Crow?" Renee asked.

"No, not exactly. This is an outside source," Sophie replied, treading lightly to not give up too much information.

"Hmm," Renee pondered, suddenly intrigued by this mystery contact. Was he an employee at Arkham? An old friend? She shelved her wandering thoughts for later. "I mean, it seems like a fine theory, but without any evidence it doesn't hold much water."

Sophie knew Renee was right, which was why she had been up late in the first place. She had grown frustrated that she let Batwoman leave without talking about the case first. Sophie realized working with Batwoman was going to be that much harder now that Renee was in her life, and negotiating meetings meant her place might be out of bounds. 

"Also, it's three-thirty in the morning. I can practically see the sunrise," Renee continued, gesturing to the window.

"I didn't realize the sun rose from the North," Sophie noted with a smirk.

"And that's exactly how delusional you'll become if you don't get to bed," Renee chastised, not letting Sophie get the better of her.

Sophie sighed. "Fine, you win. You go ahead - I want to save a few things."

Sophie watched Renee shuffle back into the room before closing out of the files. She folded her screen shut and made to leave the table when she eyed the empty glass. She paused, lifting it to her nose and inhaling all the memories that came with it.

* * *

Kate sat in the dark studio. Dark was a loose term; the full-height glass without blinds meant street light came pouring into the space. Luke had left nearly an hour earlier much to Kate’s dismay. Her hope was that he’d spend the night, but he was insistent on returning home for a few hours of “restful, comfortable” sleep which meant she was now left alone with her thoughts.

The last few hours had been a welcome delay of what she knew would eventually take over her attention. She had half-expected to pass out from the physical exertion, but her wandering thoughts had other ideas. Instead, she found herself replaying the scene on Sophie’s terrace over and over and over...

Sophie was seeing someone.

There were moments she could remain numb to the thought of Sophie with someone else, but more often she was overwhelmed with a feeling of loss. There was the part of her that tried reasoning Sophie had chosen someone before in her marrying Tyler, and this should be no different. But that was an out-of-sight out-of-mind situation: Kate hadn’t known about that relationship until after she returned to Gotham. Had Kate physically been in the city when Sophie chose Tyler, she would have reacted differently. But how? Would she have fought for Sophie? Would she have been supportive? Or would she have sat herself in a dark, unfinished, unconditioned apartment building and dwelled in silence?

The answer didn’t matter, because when Sophie chose Tyler, Kate wasn’t in her life. When Sophie chose this new person, it was after Kate had rejected her. The truth was that Kate’s anger was at herself: she had the chance at a relationship, and she threw it away because of Batwoman. A small resentment against Batwoman lingered for that, and Kate wasn’t naive enough not to worry it would simmer into a hatred.

Another part of her was torn about the fact Sophie wouldn’t choose someone who didn’t make her happy. Tyler aside, she was out and had a freedom that three, four, even five years earlier she didn’t have. This almost made it worse: Sophie wasn’t choosing someone else out of obligation or because she was going through the motions of life; she’d have chosen someone because they made her happy. They would bring out the spark in her Kate had once been able to, and Kate had no right to object to that. 

All of this reasoning didn’t stop the empty feeling in her chest though.

Worse was that she would have to remain ignorant in front of Sophie. Kate Kane didn’t know anything about this new relationship, and she knew an entirely different obstacle lay ahead in trying to stay neutral toward Sophie. One silver lining was that she didn’t know  _ who _ Sophie was with. It meant Kate would only need to remain stoic to one person’s face.

Kate wiped away another tear from her cheek, angry at the uncontrollable reaction she was having. She stared out the window from her unmade bed and saw the first light of day edge over the horizon. It was only then that her physical and emotional exhaustion took hold and she felt the weight of sleep hit her eyelids. She looked across the mattress at the empty half, imagining for a moment what it would be like to have Sophie there before drifting finally off.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all,
> 
> As many of you are probably aware, there are rumors circulating that Kate Kane will not be making an appearance in the second season of Batwoman. I plan to keep developing the story as intended, and hopefully the writers of the show will as well - it would be a shame to see all of the character development be abandoned in light of Ruby Rose's departure. While it's sad to see her go, it would be especially disheartening to see Kate Kane also make an exit given what her character is to the DCU. 
> 
> Relatedly unrelated: thank you for giving this a read; I hope you're getting some enjoyment out of it.
> 
> Cheers, EQT_95

Kate stood leaning against the kitchen counter of the Crow's facility waiting for the pot of coffee to finish brewing. It was late afternoon and she was hoping one last cup would get her through the rest of the day. She had successfully spent the day dodging Sophie  _ and _ not falling asleep while reviewing the mundane weekly case summaries. It helped that she refused to sit down long enough to melt into a chair. She had just closed the case file she was reading when Paulie rushed in.

"Oh! There you are. Did you hear?"

Kate looked up from the folder in obvious annoyance. "I swear, if one more person asks me that question without an ounce of context, I will litera-"

"They found Duela Dent's hideout," Paulie continued quickly, wishing he hadn't been tasked with telling Kate.

"And?" Kate asked, feigning disinterest while secretly begging Paulie to spill every detail he knew. This would be the first sign of Duela Dent in weeks, and the only lead they had on Dr. Butler since their efforts had been stagnated by Batwoman’s failed attempts the night before.

"It's just… well, this will be Sophie's first raid," Paulie continued. "And she’s a bit nervous… and I just thought you should know."

The mention of Sophie sent a cloud over Kate as she stared back at him in confusion. She had done nothing to suggest to Paulie her interest in Duela Dent, Sophie Moore, or Crow task force activity. 

"And why do I care?"

"Well, also because of the audit," Paulie continued, as if remembering the legitimate reason for his striking up a conversation with Kate. "The board is to be advised of any use of weaponry in advance of Crow activity. Since you're the day-to-da-"

"Right, sure. I'll let them know. What's the timeline?" Kate replied, understanding now that Paulie was just playing messenger to Sophie. The added commentary about Sophie’s nerves were quickly forgotten.

"Plans are to assemble by 17:30 with the first squad out and onsite by 18:00 to set up perimeter with strike thirty minutes after."

"Fine. Have a copy of the strategy on my desk by 17:00." 

"But that's in ten minutes," Paulie replied.

"Is that a problem?"

"Uhm, no, ma'am," he said, quickly turning to leave.

"And Paulie?"

"Yes ma'am?"

"Don't ever call me ‘ma’am’ again."

She lingered a moment longer, waiting for Paulie to leave the kitchen before reacting. Forgetting the coffee, she immediately made for her office, dialing Luke's number in the process. He picked up on the second ring.

"Hey Luke, you remember that property over in Kubrick District?" Kate asked cryptically as she reached her office. Her and Luke had established a set of key phrases for this exact scenario. "I think we should schedule another viewing. How quickly can you get to the office?"

* * *

“This looks good. I’d rather be conservative and safe than screw it up,” Sophie said over the phone. A knock on her door made her look up and see Paulie waiting at the threshold. “Great, keep me posted,” she continued, waving him over and setting the receiver back onto the stand. “What’s up?”

“Just letting you know I’ve just sent the report over to Kate. She said she’d forward it onto the board”

“Right.”

“Anything else?”

“Yea, actually, can you message her to come to my office?”

“Oh…” Paulie paused, “I would…”

“But?”

“She’s just left for the day.”

Sophie glanced at the clock with annoyance, noting the time. Of course Kate would choose today to skip out early. Sophie was juggling a million and one things and was worried she had overlooked something in the Dent plan. As much as she hated to admit it, she also knew the one person who she could ask to find a flaw was Kate, and she had just left the building.

“Fine,” Sophie replied. 

“Do you want me to call her back in?”

“No, we’ll run with what we have.”

* * *

The site of Dent’s hideout was just north of Miller Harbor and was known for its rows of historic buildings, but a recent bubble of increased crime had made the neighborhood less than lucrative. It meant buildings shuttered and vandalism grew. It was rampant with homeless who had nowhere else to turn; after all, for as much as there was a danger of being mugged, it was one of the few areas of town that people could flock to for shelter. The abandoned buildings were a dime a dozen, and it was often the case that one or two people could reign over an entire building as their own. It was a small irony when compared to the small footprints of apartment buildings families actually paid rent for in the heart of the city.

Sophie had arrived with the second squad, finalizing the last of the required documentation to approve the raid. It was an administrative task Sophie had never dealt with previously, and the city audit only added to the tediousness. Paper after paper of authorization required her signature, and at one point she wondered if she’d even make it to the site in time for the event. 

With fifteen minutes to spare, Sophie finally rolled onto the site. She had done a cursory review of the perimeter, designating confirmation of the far edges to a handful of Crows. Sophie was just navigating back to her operation point and radioing final commands when she caught something out of the corner of her eye that stopped her in her tracks. She cut off her radio and stepped toward the red-headed figure.

“What are you doing here?!” Sophie whispered sharply.

“You thought I’d miss the fun?” Batwoman replied from the shadows.

Sophie glanced around; dusk was lingering and provided a shade of darkness, but she was still worried that someone might see them together.

“This is a controlled raid. I don’t need you running interference and jeopardizing it.”

“Fair. Except I’ve got intel that says GCPD has issued a shoot-on-sight order.”

“I’ve superseded that order,” Sophie reasoned defensively. She didn’t know how Batwoman knew about it, but it explained her presence.

“And you think your team will back down?”

“What are you suggesting?” Sophie accused, feeling her authority challenged.

“I don’t doubt your integrity, Sophie. It's Jacob Kane’s allies I don’t trust.”

Sophie fell silent at this. She could argue this point, but deep down she knew Batwoman wasn’t wrong. There was an obvious pocket of Crows who were less than happy to find out Jacob was benched. It had made Sophie wary to include them on the night’s roster, but the truth was that she didn’t even know how far-reaching that group was within the Crow task force. She realized that instead of waiting for them to disappoint with their trigger-happy ways, Batwoman might be a worthwhile option. Especially if they planned on using Dent to get any information out of her about Dr. Butler.

“So what do you propose? I can’t just have you running alongside my team to get to Duela first. You’re still enemy number one to half these guys.”

“My first concern is civilian casualties. I don’t trust your Crows to distinguish between Dent and an innocent bystander. Give me a chance to survey the building; we can deal with Duela after that.”

Sophie hesitated. This was her first big raid as Lead Crow, and she needed to get a win. On the other hand, she knew any casualty would be considered a loss. She weighed the chances of her team slipping up with the odds of losing Duela to a delay. The entire building was surrounded, and unlike last time, they coordinated with city plans to check for any underground routes. She was confident they were well-positioned if she tried to flee. 

“How long do you need?”

“How long can I get?”

She glanced at her watch and saw it turn to 18:23. They were synced to start at 18:30 sharp, but a few minute delay wasn’t uncommon.

“I can give you twelve.”

Twelve minutes wasn’t a long time - Kate would have to hurry to cover the entire building. Fortunately she had Luke already scanning the building for hot spots.

“We can work with that. I only see three spots: two huddled together and one loner. I’d bet my dream home that the loner is Duela,” came Luke's voice in her ear. “Let’s get the two out first then we can focus on Duela.”

“Ok,” she said, intending her response for both Sophie’s offer and Luke’s intel. She unholstered her grappling hook, and took aim.

“Dent or no Dent, just make sure you’re out in time. We’re going to canvas quickly, and I don’t want you in the crossfire,” Sophie added.

Batwoman fired her hook, “Twelve minutes. In and out - got it,” Kate smirked, noting Sophie’s concern for her as she ascended to the third floor with a slight bittersweetness. Kate had worried she wouldn’t be able to face Sophie given last night’s events, but the significance of the situation had rid her of that fear. Instead, she was able to stay focused; lives were at risk and nothing could interfere with that.

“I suppose we can tally one under the ‘good’ column,” Luke teased in Kate’s ear, also noting Sophie’s comment. Kate rolled her eyes as she unhinged the hook. “Good thing we started that pool - looks like I’m going to be coming into some money,” he continued, referring to the wager they’d made over Sophie’s allegiance the night before.

“Are you going to tell me something useful or giggle in my ear like a schoolgirl until the Crows raid this place?”

“Right, sorry.”

* * *

“Hey, babe,” came a whisper from behind Sophie. She jumped in surprise before twisting around to find Renee had snuck up behind her. She watched her break out in laughter at Sophie’s surprise.

“How long have you been there?” Sophie accused, hoping Renee hadn’t caught sight of her talking to Batwoman. 

“Damn, tense much?”

“You’re not at your post,” Sophie accused, scanning the surrounding area with heightened nervousness. “What if Duel-”

“It’s fine. Paulie’s there,” she smiled, pulling Sophie into the shadows where Batwoman had been standing a minute before. “And I wanted to see you,” she continued, leaning in to kiss Sophie.

“What? No, Renee, this is serious. We are about to raid a building - I can’t have holes in the canvas,” Sophie insisted, stepping back.

Renee cocked her head to the side, a bewildered smile on her face. “You have half the task force surrounding the building. There are more Crows here for this one take down than would be tasked to a Knight’s game with 20,000 in attendance. You need to relax, babe,” she said, closing the space between her and Sophie. She put her hands on Sophie’s arms to comfort her. “Everything is going to go exactly as planned.”

* * *

“So what’s the plan?”

“Well, thought we’d go save some lives to start, then celebrate with a drink back at my place,” Luke joked.

“Your place? I think you mean  _ my  _ place. You know? The one with floor to ceiling windows, gorgeous unfinished wa-”

“Well,  _ I _ meant the batcave, but we can debate that later. If you look to your left you should see a set of stairs. You can take that one floor up.”

“I see them,” Kate responded, running to a set of egress stairs located in the central core of the building. “Although you could have told me to aim for the fourth floor,” she muttered under her breath.

“I heard that,  _ and _ it would have ruined your moment with Ms. Moore,” he continued to tease ignorantly. “Ten minutes.”

“You do remember lives are at stake, right?” Kate accused, noting Luke’s suggestive tone with a small cloud of disappointment.

* * *

"Stand down till five past," Sophie directed over the radio. "Rescan and position; act on my ‘go’."

"Aren't you excited? Your first big case as Lead Crow is to take down your very first case as a rookie," Renee chimed in. “That’s like, what movies are made of: the rookie cop who, after years on the force is promoted to detective and, as her first case, she’s faced with the deja vu of her first and biggest opponent.”

But Sophie wasn’t listening. There was an unusual amount of silence on the line for her liking. She had been worried going into the night that the task force hadn’t bought into her being Lead Crow yet. Resistance was expected - especially since most of the Crows were men and ten years her senior. Her time as Jacob’s second in command had taken a while for the team to adjust to, but they eventually all came around and, if push came to shove, she believed they’d be there for her. Still, the lack of usual chatter and banter gave her pause, and the lingering worry about their willingness to act on her commands remained.

"Sophie… Sooophie?"

"Would you stop? I'm trying to lis-"

"Sophie, enough. You've done this like a hundred times, right?" Renee interrupted. "What are you worried about? She's just one girl. You literally couldn't screw this up if you tried.”

Sophie looked at Renee. She was a bubble of never ending optimism and energy. "You're right," Sophie sighed.

"I know I am," Renee said, breaking into a grin as she closed the space between her and Sophie. 

* * *

"I can't see them," Kate whispered over the mic.

"You're almost there. Two doors down on your right," Luke said, referencing the old plans he’d just pulled up

“This place is a labyrinth. Remind me to gut our floor plans of this many walls,” Kate remarked. The old buildings were riddled with hallways and nooks that made tracking someone difficult. On two occasions she had already run into a deadend. “How’s time?”

“Just over nine minutes.”

Kate reached the door, knocking on it to announce herself before pulling it open.

“Anyone in here?” she called. A sound of shuffling in the corner caught her attention, and she noted two bright eyes wide with terror appeared from behind a blanket. Upon closer inspection, she realized it was a little boy. “I’m here to help. I need to get you out of here before a bunch of bad men arrive.”

“Are - are you Batman?”

Kate hesitated, “Well, not exactly. But I’m a friend of his, and he wants to make sure you get out of here safely.”

The little boy uncurled from the corner, a trust building in his eyes. He looked just old enough to have remembered a time when Batman was a symbol of hope for the city. “Will you help my mom, too? She’s not feeling so good.”

“Eight minutes, Kate,” came Luke’s voice.

It was then that Kate noticed the makeshift bed next to the boy held another form - this one unconscious by the looks of her. She bent down and tried waking her. The woman responded groggily.

“What’s wrong with her?” Kate asked the little boy.

“She calls it cancer,” the boy said simply.

Kate sighed. “What’s your name, kid?”

“Tony.”

“All right Tony, I need you to do me a favor. Can you take the lead while I help your mom up? Will you do that for me?”

“Yea!” Tony exclaimed, taking Kate’s request as an opportunity to show his courage.

“Great, give me a second, and I’ll meet you in the hall.”

* * *

“You should get back to your station. If someone sees us…”

“No one is going to see us. They’re all getting ready to watch the fireworks,” Renee joked.

“The what?”

“I must say, initially I was a little disappointed when I heard, but I’ll forgive your methods this one time on account of nerves. I wish you had told me sooner so I could’ve talked you out of it, but, too late now: any minute till lift-off!” Renee exclaimed, throwing her arms around Sophie.

* * *

“You still have just over six minutes, Kate. Once you get to the ground level, there’s an alley you can access - I don’t see any sign of Crows over there,” Luke advised.

“Strange,” Kate muttered. She had expected Sophie to canvas the entire area, but she wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth. She was in the stairwell now, supporting the weight of Tony’s mom on her shoulder as they slowly made their way down. Tony was taking the steps more quickly, pausing at each landing for Kate to catch up.

“Hey, kid, do me another favor, yea? Just keep going - I’ll catch up,” Kate panted, getting frustrated by the added stress of Tony’s doe-eyes. “You know this area well, right?”

Tony nodded enthusiastically.

“Great. Go wait in the alley for us. There’s a clear path to it. Can you do that for me?”

“Yea!” he replied, turning to bolt ahead.

Kate pressed ahead, hearing the sound of Tony’s feet on the stairs fade away. A clunk identified he’d reached the exit door.

* * *

“What do you mean ‘watch the fireworks,’ Renee?”

“Oh, come on babe, I wasn’t going to miss out on watching with you.”

“What are you talking about? The team is on strict ord-”

“Hold up! 5 - 4 -”

“Renee, wh-”

“3-”

* * *

“Just over five minutes, Ka-”

But Luke’s voice was drowned out by a series of loud bangs overhead. Kate paused mid-step, looking up to identify the source of the noise and prepare to take cover. Seeing nothing, she strained her ears. An eerie silence pierced the air before a low, growing rumble took hold and began shaking the structure.

“Oh n-”

* * *

Minutes that felt like hours passed in the dark. Luke was frantically trying to pull up surveillance feeds. Something had happened, and every feed he had around the site was out. The last thing he heard was three loud bangs, a growing rumble, and Kate muttering a string of expletives before the connection dropped out. 

The lingering silence that filled the batcave left Luke half-paralyzed in fear. He assumed an impact to the batsuit had severed the feed, and he was trying to swap over the suits back-up communication line. It was less reliable for communicating, but a resilient alternative. After a few seconds of tinkering, a hiss and pop shot through the speakers.

“Kate? Can you hear me? This is Luke. Tell me if you can hear me.” He paused for a moment, listening to the white noise when a familiar voice cut in:

“What the actual f-”

“Kate?!” Luke had jumped from his chair, sending it flying as he heard Kate’s voice echo through the batcave. “Kate, are you ok? What’s happening?”

The sound of shifting debris drowned out Kate’s words. “I can’t hear you Kate. Say it again?”

“I said  _ they blew it up _ .”

“Blew what up?” Luke asked, bemused.

“The building,” came Kate’s voice again cracking before breaking into a cough.

“They what?” he followed, trying to understand. “Are-are you still inside? I’ve got no read on the suit.”

“Honestly? Not sure. The last thing I remember was…” a moment of white noise passed over the speakers, “yea, I’m stuck in the stairwell,” Kate responded. “I think it’s on the edge of the building. I can see the sky through a part, so - so I might be able to push my way out,” she speculated out loud. “Assuming I don’t move something that causes a cave-in…”

Her voice sounded shallow but echoed slightly against the hard surfaces surrounding her. Luke was having a hard time understanding if the softness of her voice was because of the back-up radio or not. If she was in the stairwell, it meant the concrete walls had held after the explosion. Luke sighed with temporary relief.

After another minute of shuffling sounds of concrete shifting, Luke was pulled out of his chair by two words:

“Oh, no,” Kate let slip. 

She fell silent as more shuffling flooded over the speakers. Luke stared intently at them in wait “Kate?” Luke asked after a minute.

“Hang on,” Kate said. Luke heard a grunt as the sound of more rubble shifting came through the speakers. “This is gonna take a minute,” she continued through heaves. “But… you should... call Mary; we’re gonna need her help.”

* * *

Sophie stared at the exposed sky where the abandoned building stood moments before. People around her were rushing back and forth, shouting directions, but all Sophie could do was watch in confusion. Her entire body shook in fear as she glanced at her watch: it had just turned 8:05.

“Sophie? Sophie, we need to get back - they’re saying there might have been a ruptured gas line,” came Renee’s voice. She was at Sophie’s side, pulling her toward a Crow’s armoured vehicle, but everything about the experience felt distant to Sophie: voices were hazy and her vision blurred together.

_ What happened? _ was the only thought racing through her head.

“Come on, we need to get that cut looked at,” Renee continued. “We should have been farther back.”

“Farther… wh-what?” Sophie asked, looking around at the scene. Four armoured vehicles were a block down from the site, and they were all packed with the Crow task force. She stared in relief and confusion: they were all safe, but how?

Bright lights from fire trucks arriving lit up the sky. She recognized one of their on-staff paramedics approaching her and felt Renee force her to sit down. They engaged in a conversation that Sophie couldn’t hear. She could only stare back at the pile of rubble - a sense of dread growing in her.  _ What have I done? _

* * *

“I swear dude, if this is a prank, I’m gon-”

“No, nope, not a prank. This is real. I work with Batwoman, and she needs you to be at the clinic, like, now-ish.”

Mary paused, trying to decide if this mystery voice could be trusted. “Why?”

“Be-because… there’s an emergency,” Luke stuttered. He had set up a machine to disguise his voice, but he still felt like Mary would find out from his obvious lack of composure.

“So what’s the emergency?” Mary continued skeptically.

“A building fell on Batwoman.”

“And you expect her to just walk to a clinic after that?” Mary asked, starting to doubt this voice’s story.

“No, I mean - she’s fine. At least… at least I  _ think _ she’s fine. She’s got someone with her who needs help. She’s trying to get out now and honestly I don’t have time to explain this to you. Can you do it or not? Because if not then I need to find someone else who ca-”

“Oh, yea, guy, I’m already here. I just wanted to make sure it was legit. I’m still locking my doors in case you’re just some weirdo. If this is really a Batwoman thing, she’ll know how to get around that.”

* * *

“Good news. Mary’s already at the clinic,” came Luke’s voice through the headset. The reception was shaky, and Kate wasn’t sure if the long pauses of silence were because it kept breaking in and out or because there was nothing to hear.

“Great. If I can just get this last bit moved, I’ll have enough space to-” Kate paused, a wave of pain shooting through her side. She steadied herself against a wall and took a slow, steady breath.

“Kate?”

“This reception is really terrible. We need to find a better back-up for next time,” Kate said, blaming a breakdown in radio for her pause as she gripped her ribcage.

“You mean you’re planning on getting trapped under a building again?” Luke joked back. Kate couldn’t help but chuckle at this which sent another wave of pain through her chest.

“I’ve heard sirens the last few minutes. Can you check what that’s about. I need 3-4 more minutes to clear this, but I can’t just waltz through a flock of GCPD, or worse, Crows.”

“On it.”

* * *

“Sophie, you need to slow down. I don’t understand what you’re saying. What do you mean you didn’t know about the explosives?” Renee asked Sophie, her face etched with concern. “How is that possible? We  _ all _ knew. I almost didn’t even come because of it. Someone had to have authorized that - I thought it was you.”

Sophie was trying to piece together the events with Renee’s comments. “You knew this was going to happen?”

“Yea, Sophie, why do you think I came to find you? Paulie was rounding everyone up when I-”

“Paulie?”

“Yea. He was the one who suggested I find you and get you to a safe distance. He thought you were too close. Sophie, you don’t look very good. Doc thinks you’re in shock, and you’ve got a minor concussion. I really think you need to lie down for a minute, babe.”

“What about Duela? Were there any casualties?” Sophie asked, ignoring Renee’s suggestion. She had been pulled into the back of an ambulance the moment it arrived, and she’d received no updates about the site.

“Let’s just say, if Duela  _ was _ in there, she’s sitting under four floors of concrete.”

* * *

“Ok, so do you want the good news or bad news first?”

“Is there a difference? Isn’t it all bad news when you’re stuck under a building?”

“I… yes, that’s - that’s fair. The bad news is that there are about two dozen cops and firefighters out there and a leak from the explosion punctured a gas pipe.”

“I really hope that sentence didn't include your good news,” Kate muttered.

“The good news is that the gas line has been cut off, but they’re keeping everyone from entering the site until it’s dissipated.”

“How close can you get my bike to the site?”

“I’ve already moved it to about 30 feet due west of you down the alley.”

“Got it.”

* * *

“No, she’s not talking to anyone right now.”

“Renee, this isn’t up to me. GCPD is going to make their own statement if Sophie doesn’t.”

Sophie had refused to leave the site after the gas leak was reported. They moved to a safe distance per GCPD requests, but she wasn’t willing to leave until she could see for herself whether Batwoman would emerge. She’d scanned the skyline for any sight of her along the rooftops to no avail.

“What’s going on?” Sophie asked, approaching the heated discussion between Renee and Paulie.

“The GCPD are going to say the explosion was unauthorized and an act of domestic terrorism if we don’t make a statement taking responsibility,” Paulie said quickly, ignoring the glares from Renee. “We need you to go out there and claim it as officially sanctioned by the Crow’s, or we’re over. The City will assume we acted in an uncoordinated manner and shut us down.”

“It wasn’t coordinated,” Sophie said simply.

“Sophie, what do you mean it wasn't coordinated? You had to have signed off on this. Crow task force only has access to explosives with written approval from the Lead Crow,” Paulie said, his face riddled with confusion. 

“Well I’m Lead Crow and I  _ didn’t  _ authorize this.”

“Then who did?” Renee asked. There was a slight accusation in her tone. “Because I watched half a dozen Crows wire it up, and nothing you’ve said so far makes any sense.”

Sophie fell silent at this. No one could gain access to the stock of military-grade explosives used without her approval. 

“Sophie, the Commissioner is waiting. What am I telling him?” Paulie asked, his fear palpable.

“If I go out there and say it was the Crows, but not authorized by me…”

“They’ll shut us down before sunrise,” Paulie finished

“And if we say it wasn’t by us…”

“There’s too much evidence that it was,” Renee chimed in.

“I need to think,” Sophie said suddenly. “Can you stall for another minute?” she asked, looking up at both Renee and Paulie.

“Maybe, but be quick,” Paulie said, moving to leave.

“I’ll come with you - having GCPD with you might get him to reconsider,” Renee said, following him. She glanced back at Sophie to give her a reassuring smile.

* * *

Kate felt the fresh night air cut across her face as she successfully pushed the last block out of her path. She took a slow breath, looking up at the night sky. It was dimly lit by distant, blinking red and blue lights, confirming Luke’s intel that all law enforcement had abandoned the site until the air had cleared. 

“I’m picking up nothing, Kate. No heat signals - you’re in the clear,” Luke said as Kate returned to the narrow pocket and retrieved Tony’s unconscious mom. 

Kate looked down at the woman and sighed, anticipating the shots of pain that were coming.  _ This is going to hurt. _

* * *

Sophie knew she wouldn't have long to weigh her options. She glanced again over at the collapsed building, wanting more than anything to go investigate the rubble herself. But she also dreaded what that might uncover if she did...

Concentrate, _ Sophie, _ she thought, scolding herself. She paused and took a breath to focus herself before rattling off the information she knew: the Crows had planned a raid to capture Duela, but instead of going as planned, explosives were set off at the top of the hour. There were two obvious conflicts with that: first, it ignored her order that explosives not be used for any future raid. This also meant someone had accessed the high-grade explosives without following the proper protocol. Second, it ignored her order to delay the raid until five minutes past the hour. This latter offense made Sophie’s stomach churn. There was still no sign of Batwoman.

There was also no chance the explosives didn’t come from the Crows. Renee confirmed as much by admitting she’d watched a team wire them up. Who they were, exactly, would need to come later. Right now, Sophie had a choice to make. If she admitted the truth - that the explosion was unsanctioned, it would guarantee the Crows get shut down. An organization that isn’t following it’s leader’s order is no better than the GCPD. On the other hand, if she publicly took credit for the bombing, she’d be no better than Jacob - worse, even, because she’d have Batwoman’s blood on her hands.

She stared at Paulie and Renee fighting to delay the Commissioner, but she could read by his body language that his patience had run out. She took a deep breath, knowing what she needed to do.

* * *

“Mary?” came a voice from the corridor. Mary had been pacing back and forth for the last thirty minutes weighing whether to take the mystery caller seriously or not. Hearing Batwoman’s voice down the hall sent a wave of relief through her that she had waited around to see it through. 

She rushed out and stalled slightly at what she saw. Mystery man hadn’t given much information, but a child was not something she anticipated. 

“Can you grab something?” Kate asked through clenched teeth, struggling to keep the mother supported.

“Right! Sorry,” Mary rushed, running out of view for a moment before returning with a wheelchair. She helped Batwoman place the woman into the chair and spun her around toward the clinic space. 

Kate exhaled with relief leaning against the wall in exhaustion and pain. She didn’t know the status of the mother, but she saw getting her here as a small victory given the night’s circumstances. She watched Tony chase after Mary and his mother with worry. After making it to the alley, she found him near a dumpster, tear-stained and frantic. When he caught sight of his mother and Batwoman, he immediately ran toward them, trying to help Kate.

“Can you help me lift her onto the bed?” Mary shouted from the other room. “And lock that door behind you!”

* * *

“Kate? Can you hear me?” Luke said quietly in Kate’s ear. He had stayed silent until Mary was busy caring for the mother. With the exception of explaining how to enable the sidecar on the bat bike for the kid, he’d had little communication with Kate after she left the site. Since then, news reports were circulating that had him confused and struggling to find the words to tell Kate.

“Mhm,” Kate said softly. He could tell she was still in Mary’s presence by her volume. “What’s up?”

Luke sighed, running his hands through his hair in frustration. “Just… I was just wondering how much longer you think you’ll be. There’s a lot of radio chatter tonight.”

He heard Kate sigh, and then a moment later, Mary spoke:

“She suffered a blow to the head. She’ll recover just fine from that, but her kid is right about the cancer. I felt lumps when examining her. If I had to guess she’s never gotten treatment,” Mary said, coming through the speakers. “I’ll keep them both under observation for the next day or two, but a long-term plan should be set up. I don’t exactly have state of the art radiation treatment here.”

“Thanks, Mary,” Luke heard Kate respond.

“Now, about  _ you _ ,” Mary continued. 

“You? What about you, Kate?” Luke interrupted into Kate’s ear. He hadn’t been able to refresh any information from the batsuit but had assumed Kate was fine given she had just moved half a wall and carried a woman to Mary’s.

“It’s nothing,” she replied to both of them.

“Kate,” Luke pressed.

“Oh is that right? All right then, prove it. Take a deep breath for me.”

If he weren’t so concerned about Kate he’d have laughed at the no-nonsense manner with which Mary treated Batwoman. Silence radiated for a moment, and Luke imagined the two having a staredown when he heard Kate let out a soft cry of pain.

“That’s what I thought. Which side?” Mary continued.

“Right,” Kate responded, her annoyance with Mary clear in her tone.

“And I’m guessing you won’t let me take a look.” Kate’s lack of response was answer enough. “Fine. Best case, it’s just bruising. Worst case, you’ve broken half your ribs and if you breathe too hard you’ll puncture a lung.”

“ _ Kate _ , what are you doing? You need to get checked out,” Luke hissed in her ear.

“It’s just some light bruising,” Kate responded, ignoring Luke’s voice.

Mary sighed loudly in annoyance, “I can give you some pain killers for it, but I’m really not comfortable with you being unmonitored.” After another moment, she raised her voice and said “Hey, mystery man, if it gets worse, make sure Batwoman gets checked out, capeesh?”

Both Luke and Kate fell silent at this.

“Oh, come on, you’re telling me you have this super duper awesome suit and there’s no headset in it?”

* * *

“Care for that drink?” Luke asked, pulling a bottle off the shelf. It was one of four personal effects Kate had brought along with the furniture.

“Was there something worth celebrating?” Kate responded, her eyes closed as she lay back into the couch.

“I mean, you  _ did _ save two lives tonight. That counts for something,” Luke said, grabbing two glasses and joining her on the couch. " _ And _ , there was that baller foreshadowing from last night. Pique first season stuff if I do say so myself."

Kate opened her eyes just long enough to translate her annoyance at his remarks. Luke stared back at Kate, resting uncomfortably against the couch. He took his time to uncork the bottle and pour out the glasses, weighing his next words carefully.

“I don’t really know how else to say this, so I’m just going to say it,” he began, handing her a glass. 

“Sophie authorized the bombing,” Kate said for him. 

Luke paused, waiting to see if she’d say more. Instead, she stared ahead blankly before bringing the glass to her lips.

“How did you…”

“The nine o’clock news. Mary had it on when I arrived.”

“I’m sorry, Kate," Luke offered. He had spent the last hour trying to come up with the words to say, but nothing could address the feeling of betrayal he was sure Kate was feeling.

“Yea, well she’ll be the one sorry when she realizes her plan to get rid of Batwoman back-fired,” Kate countered before knocking back the rest of her drink. “It also means you better pay up, because that’s a hell of a lot of tallies in the ‘bad’ column.”

Luke wasn't ready to give in so easily. "Do you really think she meant t-"

"What I think, is that I'm going to have another drink, and play Smash until these pills kick in,” Kate said, leaning forward with a cringe as she refilled her glass. Luke watched her with concern. He wasn't surprised by her dismissiveness, but he had hoped there'd be more discussion. "You in?" She asked, reaching with another wince to turn on the console.

He begrudgingly leaned forward and grabbed a controller. "But this time  _ I  _ get to be Kirby."


	13. Chapter 13

“You sure you don’t want to take the day off?” Luke pressed for the third time that morning. He was staring at Kate who had nearly doubled-down in pain as she changed into a clean shirt. After staying the night to keep an eye on her, Luke was now fretting over the smallest of cringes.

The painkillers Mary had provided the night before paired with a few shots of whisky had made Kate think the injury wasn’t that bad. Unfortunately, with morning came the delayed onset of how sore she was, and she was slowly learning her new limits, one that included reaching her arms over her head.

“It’s fine,” she replied through gritted teeth. “Besides, this would be the worst day to play the ‘party’ card.”

Kate was alluding to the fact that following the bombing and subsequent claim made by the Crows for it had caused a domino effect. By the time the 9:30 news had wrapped, Kate’s phone was blowing up with messages from board members demanding an emergency meeting to discuss next steps. If Kate was going to stay above the fray, she needed to be at that meeting. More than that, she needed to talk to Sophie to understand how things had gone so wrong. She was in the middle of reading through the report Paulie had delivered the day before, and there was no shred of evidence that explosives were included in the mix.

It wasn’t yet clear to Kate whether Sophie had intentionally sent her the wrong intel, or something fishy was up. Kate had her money on the latter while Luke had his on the former. Lines had already been drawn that morning as they bounced hypothesis after hypothesis off each other.

“She’s clearly just working for Jacob,” Luke had reasoned. He would get especially temperamental whenever he observed Kate nearly doubling over in pain. “It’s the only obvious conclusion for how shady everything went down.”

“You’ve conveniently left out the likelihood of Cobblepot having any role in this,” Kate countered. After her second drink the night before, she had relaxed to the idea that Sophie was the villain. If their years together was anything to go off, it meant that Sophie wouldn’t be behind this. She still didn’t trust that Sophie wasn’t working with Jacob, but she knew Sophie would never take someone’s life. The first item on her agenda when she was made Lead Crow was to eliminate the use of any explosive force. Since then, Kate had let her imagination wander toward less obvious possibilities.

Sophie taking credit for the bombing meant there were two things Luke and Kate could argue over: 

The first was that the bombing occurred well before their agreed timeline, and it meant Sophie’s allegiance was up for renewed debate. On one hand, it could mean Sophie was working with Jacob to undermine Batwoman. On the other hand, it could mean a higher power was at play overriding even Sophie’s authority. Overnight, Kate and Luke’s view on this topic had flipped; where Kate had originally blamed Sophie for the bombing, it was now Luke who was up in arms about the whole thing. Kate knew his reaction was instinctive and out of concern for her, and his flared emotions meant there wasn’t room to negotiate that opinion just now.

The second item was about Kate’s role within the Crows. Assuming Sophie was involved in a coordinated effort to kill Batwoman, it would mean Sophie’s lack of trust in anyone included Kate and the board. The report submitted to Kate and subsequently submitted to the board lacked any suggestion of the night’s prior events. It didn’t sit well with Kate that Sophie would bypass providing an amended briefing prior to executing in the field. If the alternate theory were assumed and it was in fact someone else, namely Cobblepot or one of her cronies behind it, that meant Sophie was effectively without authority. It also meant this decision-maker was thumbing her nose at the board by not including them in the planning. It was a risky path and one that could only be achieved by someone holding a majority vote. Someone like Cobblepot. In either case, for this to go missed by Kate meant her network and means of information wasn’t far reaching enough, and she needed to instead go right to the sources.

"Fine, but remember I'm just a call away," Luke said, finally giving in. 

"Thanks, dad," Kate joked lightly. Luke was the overprotective brother she never had, and knew deep down he was only looking out for her.

Luke ignored Kate's remark, "I'll be remote most of the day bringing things from Wayne Tower back here so we can set up shop for the weekend." Luke then raised his hand, stopping Kate from interjecting. "And before you say anything, no, I am not bringing the suit. You are going to spend the next forty eight hours resting."

"Luke, I am f-"

"And don't say you're fine. One tap to the ribcage and you'd be out for the count, and you know it. This isn’t some CW tv show where you can jump back into battle. You're hanging up the cape for the weekend."

* * *

Kate had made it a point to arrive at Crow Headquarters early and could already sense a shift as she walked past huddled whispers in the lobby. It was this change in tone that fed into Kate's suspicion that things weren't all they seemed. She had come in at the break of dawn in hopes of catching Sophie for a debrief before the board meeting, but when she reached her office, she noted the lights were off and the door locked. 

Kate recognized it was earlier than normal, but it also wasn't like Sophie to not be the first one in the office. Her attention to detail meant she used the extra hours in the morning to deal with the administrative side of her job before she could settle into the day-to-day operations. It concerned Kate that she was absent after such a major event, but not enough to let it redirect her own schedule. She had bigger fish to fry: a boardroom of angry old rich people. She rerouted to the main conference room, anticipating the scourge of monologues that would fill the next two hours of her day;

“The board needs to take swift action if we hope to get through this audit unscathed. The public is outraged. My phone hasn’t stopped ringing since last night. You think the GCPD will just accept this act of negligence? Ms. Moore had no right to take these actions, and she should be made an example of. That we gave her this responsibility and she’s so quickly returned to the very tactics that put us in this position in the first place is exactly why we should put forth a vote for her immediate removal.”

“It’s true. I’ve reviewed the report: nowhere does it highlight use of explosives. You all know my view on explosives: the more the merrier to get Gotham’s crime rate down. These low-level heathens need a lesson, and we are poised to give it. I hold no ill-will toward their use last night. But what I don’t tolerate is being deceived, and that is exactly what has happened: Ms. Moore flagrantly issued an inaccurate report to the board knowing full well she would do something entirely different. My dear board members, this is the chance to give the Crows the direction they need.”

Kate listened to board member after board member chastise the fall-out from the failed Dent operation. The only things missing were pitchforks and torches. It was all clearly for show: not one of the outspoken board members were upset with the actions. To the contrary, they were elated that such drastic measures had been taken. What upset them was that the wool had been pulled over them, and they were collectively using the opportunity to challenge Sophie’s authority as Lead Crow. It was the exact move they needed to recover from their batched power move weeks earlier when Sophie was voted in as Lead Crow.

Kate stared at the folder in front of her. It had magically appeared on her desk, and she found it when she arrived that morning. It was the out Sophie needed to stifle the uproar of the board.

“And will anyone second my motion to immediately dismiss Ms. Moore?”

“If I may,” Kate finally cut in. She glanced at the folder in front of her, doing a final calculation in her mind about the potential risks of her next words. It took only a second to conclude it was the right move. “I should have spoken earlier; gauging from the mood here, it’s clear everyone is more outraged by the lack of information than the bombing of a vacant building and risking the lives of an entire square block with the subsequent gas leak. Be that the case, I think I’ve got something that may temper the mood of everyone here,” Kate said, taking note of Cobblepot’s knowing grin.

* * *

Kate leaned against the back wall of the elevator as it whizzed up. She closed her eyes, taking solace in the bad jazz music that filled the empty space. After another hour of back and forth, Kate was convinced she had held off the vultures - for now. For a moment she was worried the fallout from the board would mean removing her from her day-to-day role as liaison, but that wasn’t where their agenda was at. It was clear the board smelled blood in the water, and they were looking for any reason to out Sophie as Lead Crow. What wasn’t clear to Kate was who they had on deck to take her position if and when they got their way.

The ding came too early for Kate’s liking, and the sound of the doors opening forced her hand. She opened her eyes and they immediately landed on Sophie who was standing on the other side of the doors.

“I need to talk to you,” she rushed. There was a fear in her eyes Kate could only recall seeing twice before.

“Have you just been standing there waiting?” Kate asked, pretending to ignore the anxiety emanating from Sophie. She left the lift, walking past Sophie toward the kitchen. This wasn’t great timing; Kate had hoped to catch Sophie in a less public spot to talk through the night’s events - not be barraged in the middle of the task force lobby.

“Jerry called to tell me you were back from lunch,” Sophie explained, turning to walk with her.

“Looks like someone’s not getting a Christmas gift this year,” Kate replied casually.

“Kate,” Sophie continued. “I… I need to talk to you about what happened.”

Kate sighed in feigned annoyance, stopping mid-stride to face Sophie. “The board is reviewing it.”

“This isn’t about that. Kate, I’ve go-”

Sophie stalled as she looked at Kate’s face for the first time. Kate was facing Sophie but glancing around as though tracking for eavesdroppers.

“I’ve already told you - the board is looking into it,” Kate began at a volume slightly louder than necessary. “You’ll just have to wait until they announce their decision.”

“Kate, I… what?” Sophie began again, her eyes searching wildly for a hint that Kate was stalling. There was a renewed panic that filled Sophie as she tried to decipher Kate’s deflection.

Kate moved to leave, walking past her when Sophie heard her whisper, “ _ Thirty minutes. My office.” _

* * *

Sophie watched the minutes tick by at an agonizingly slow rate. She had barely slept the night before, sitting in front of her t.v. for news of Batwoman’s fate. Renee had offered to come home with her, but Sophie rejected it, claiming to be too tired and needing time alone. The truth was that she was terrified.

There was still no evidence of Duela Dent in the wreckage either. Granted, a multi-story pile of rubble didn't exactly make for easy searching. Sophie had been so wrapped up in whether Batwoman was safe that she'd barely thought about the other lives that might have been lost to the blast. Even Dent didn't deserve a fate as cruel as last night's. 

She hit refresh on the Gotham Gazette's website one more time, hoping to not see any gut churning headlines appear. It had become an obsessive habit - checking back every five minutes for news. Having stayed awake most of the night, she was up early and had snuck back into her office well before daylight. Locking herself inside, she sat in the dark for most of the morning, letting the glow of the screen light her work. 

She was trying to understand how everything had gone so wrong, and she couldn't find an ounce of evidence in the stack of files on her desk. It was like an alternate universe had been set up, and Sophie was walking through it with blinders on.

* * *

“Come in,” Kate said, hearing the soft knock. The door clicked and, in a swift motion, Sophie slid past and shut it behind her. She glanced at Kate’s desk, looking for her behind it but instead found her propped on the folding chair next to the door. A questioning look came over her face.

“Change of scenery; I wanted to see what the cage looked like from this side,” Kate said dismissively, barely looking up from the paper she was reading through. “You’re welcome to take a seat on that side, though,” she continued, nodding at the empty chair.

The truth was that Kate had no intention of doing anything that might strain herself. She had broken out in a sweat at the simple act of opening the office door and setting up the folding chair. The imagined pain from sliding across her desk had made her nauseous just thinking about it.

Sophie looked at Kate expectantly, hoping she’d continue by saying something encouraging and reaffirming, but instead she sat quietly in her chair, watching Sophie. 

What Kate saw revealed a lot to her. Sophie was skillful at many things, but maintaining a poker face had never been one - Kate often joked that it was because she was just so fundamentally good-hearted she’d never be able to bluff her way out of anything. She looked rattled and unrested as she leaned against Kate’s desk, resting her palms against the edge of it, her fingers twitching nervously.

“What happened, Sophie?” Kate asked slowly. She knew what happened: a building exploded, and it landed on her. But that was Batwoman’s point of view. There was a whole side that was a mystery to Kate, and she needed Sophie to fill in those missing bits.

“I didn’t do it. Kate, you know me. I would never authorize that kind of - especially not for something as trivial as taking down Duela Dent. She’s troubled, but not an imminent threat to Gotham. She’s been off the radar for weeks as it is - why would I make that kind of decision?” Sophie rambled. All of her thoughts from last night were gushing out as word salad, and Kate leaned back recognizing her role as the listener. “I literally had over half the task force there. It makes no sense that I’d do that if I was just going to blow the place. Why would I put people at risk? And how did everyone  _ but me _ know what was going on? This is like a bad dream. And now they’re investigating the site, and… and what if everyone didn’t get out? What if… Kate, I didn’t. I didn’t know, and now… now people might be dead.”

Kate was listening but also deep in thought. It also felt too surreal that the one person who didn’t know was the acting commander, but Kate also knew Sophie. Nothing about what Sophie was saying felt untruthful. 

“People?” Kate asked and watched Sophie’s eyes close in worry.

“Yes, Kate. People.”

“Didn’t you clear the area?”

“I suppose that would have crossed my mind  _ if I knew it was going to be blown up _ .”

“Fair. That’s fair,” Kate replied, acknowledging the absurdity of her question. “I want to believe you, Sophie. I really do, but then I need you to tell me that isn't your signature," Kate countered, pointing to the top paper on a stack of files sitting on her desk.

Sophie glanced down, opening the folder. Her eyes widened with confusion. "What is this?

"It's the amended operations strategy for last night's raid."

"I… Kate, I didn’t sign this. I've literally never seen this before.”

“Lucky for you, the board believes you did, but what I want to know now is how your signature ended up on a post-dated raid plan.”

Sophie was flipping through page after page, her face becoming more and more distraught. “I’ve never seen any of this.”

“Me either. Until this morning when I found it on my desk which brings up a whole other set of security problems about how someone has access to my off… my office,” Kate said, trailing off as she quickly rose from her chair, ignoring the stabbing sensation on her chest. 

“What are yo-” Sophie began but stopped when Kate raised her hand for silence. She watched her grab a pen and paper and begin scratching down words on her desk.

“So my guess,” Kate continued as she continued writing, “is that you’re playing me, Sophie. My guess is that you intentionally had Paulie give me the wrong report so I’d forward it to the board while you went and changed it behind my back.”

“What?” Sophie asked as Kate turned back to her, handing her the paper. “I didn’t…”

_ The office is bugged. _

“I defended you in that meeting because I thought I had made a mistake, but the truth is that this was all part of your plan,” Kate continued, making her accusations up on the fly. “I get that you don’t like me being around or being Jacob’s daughter, but I’m not going to fold that easily, Sophie.”

“I-I…” Sophie began, acknowledging Kate’s note but not sure ‘who’ the bugging had come from.

“You can go,” Kate chimed in, stifling any risk of letting unwanted information out. She raised her phone up, signalling to Sophie she’d message her.

Sophie, for her part, picked up on these final cues and made to leave in silence, slamming the door behind her for good measure.

Kate took a breath to calm her racing heart. She glanced around, trying to find anything else amiss, suddenly wishing she had x-ray vision. What she did have was Luke. She pulled out her phone and quickly scanned through to his contact before pressing call.

“Hey Luke, how’s the spec unit looking?” she asked a little too casually.

“Just on my way over with the last load,” she heard him reply.

“Great, great, good to hear,” Kate continued.

“You’re being listened to.”

“Mhm.”

“Should I pretend to say something interesting?”

“A potential tenant? Already?”

“Ok, I have no idea what you’re doing.”

“You think it’ll be ready by then?”

“Kate…” Luke continued before a long silence.

“If you think they’ll invest, we should do it.”

“Yea, I’m lost. I need you to be a bit more obvious.”

“Yea, I can be at the spec unit then. I’ve got some stuff to wrap up here but could be over in the next hour?”

“Ok, I didn’t need you to be that obvious.”

“Great, that’ll give us another hour before the potential tenant stops by.”

“Wait, what now? Potential? Are you bringing a civilian to the flat? After I just moved all this top secret stuff over?!”

“Perfect. Thanks, Luke.”


	14. Chapter 14

“I can’t believe you invited over the very person who tried to kill you less than a day ago,” Luke hissed as the ringer chimed through the unit.

“You don’t even believe that,” Kate countered. “But good acting. Besides, this is our best option for getting to the bottom of the explosives. I don’t have the security clearance to access the Crow network, and we can’t exactly set up shop in a bugged space.”

“Speculative. It’s speculatively bugged. You have no evidence it was,” Luke replied, before pressing the buzzer to turn on the mic and unlock the front door. “Top floor. Elevator’s broke, so take the stairs.”

“Is that a risk you want to run?”

“What? Does she not know how to use the stairs?”

Kate rolled her eyes. “No, I mean about the ‘speculative’ bugging.”

"You realize there are a million and one ways to check, right? The batcave is under Wayne Enterprise. You  _ literally _ have access to some of the greatest tech in the world."

Kate paused. "That actually hadn't crossed my mind."

"Unbelievable," Luke sighed begrudgingly. “Fine, but the moment it gets sketchy, she is out.”

“Ok, dad.”

“Excuse m-” Luke began, but a knock at the door cut him off. “That was fast.”

“I guess she knows how to use stairs.”

* * *

Sophie arrived at the address Kate messaged her with skepticism. The building looked abandoned and not remotely close to what she expected when she agreed to meet. That skepticism grew when she buzzed in and heard a strange man’s voice on the other side telling her to walk to the top floor. Everything was shrouded in mystery, and after Kate’s scribbled note in her office, Sophie couldn’t help but wonder how much Kate hadn’t been telling her.

“Hi, you must be Sophie,” the same voice said, welcoming her at the door. “I’m Luke.”

So this was the famous Luke Fox. He looked like he belonged in front of a college lecture hall, not in a run down building on the edge of Lower Gotham. He was dressed in a patterned button up and tie, and over that was a sweater and  _ over that _ a blazer. His over-layered professor appearance aside, Sophie could immediately tell he was intelligent. The softness of his voice suggested to her he spent more time observing than speaking, and behind his glasses were bright, scrutinizing eyes. The formality of his welcome also suggested to Sophie that he wasn’t thrilled by her appearance. Sophie couldn’t blame him, and she was slightly surprised to even see him here.

“Hey Luke, I’ve heard a lot about you,” Sophie replied. It wasn’t entirely truthful, and she could tell Luke didn’t entirely believe her.

“Right. Well, I’ve heard enough about you,” Luke said, eyeing her suspiciously. “Come in.”

“Be nice, Luke,” came Kate’s voice from inside the flat. Sophie stepped into the space, surprised at its scale and complete lack of finishes. For being a construction site, it wasn’t furnished like one. A table and chairs were set up where she assumed the kitchen was supposed to go. Just past that was a long couch oriented toward a fireplace - one of the few finishes that seemed complete. It was paired with two armchairs and a coffee table. A small fire was already lit inside the space, and it was only then that Sophie realized there was probably no heat in the building.

Her eyes landed on a bed behind the couch, and her eyebrows raised in question. “Who lives here?”

“Technically no one,” Luke answered.

“But we’ve been having break-ins,” Kate continued, walking across the flat toward the two. “So we’re babysitting it until we can get some decent security.”

“It feels a bit like a safe house,” Sophie replied, looking around the space.

Kate’s eyes lit up at this. “See? What did I say,” she said to Luke who was looking more perturbed with each passing minute.

“You said it feels like-”

“Like a safe house, exactly. He didn’t agree,” Kate interrupted, beaming in victory.

“What is all of this?” Sophie asked, glancing at the piles of folders on the table.

“Well, that small, neglected pile in the corner is real estate work. Everything else is Crow-related,” Luke remarked darkly, shooting a quick glare at Kate.

Kate returned his stare with a sheepish grin. They had agreed he’d play the annoyed business partner when Sophie arrived to keep up appearances. It wouldn’t make much sense to have him around to help out without an ulterior motive. In this case, it was to get answers so Kate could return her attention to the largely forgotten renovations.

“I’ve got a hunch that what happened last night was an inside job,” Kate began.

“Oh is that right? A secret plot that double crosses the Lead Crow was conjured up from the inside, Kate? Real groundbreaking theory. My money was on Area 51,” Luke cut on sarcastically. She shot him a glare; he was taking his role a little too seriously. 

“Right, so, what that means-”

“You said your office was bugged,” Sophie cut in. “Why?”

“Because everywhere else already is,” Kate answered simply. Sophie scowled back, doubting the extent of Kate's remark.

“What do you mean ‘everywhere else already is’? How is that even possible? If there was far-reaching surveillance installed within headquarters I feel like that’s something I’d know about,” Sophie replied.

“It’s not that kind of surveillance,” Kate continued. “This is from Margaret.”

“This again? Kate, this conspiracy theo-”

“It’s not a conspiracy. I was skeptical too, but Margaret all but told me and has regularly backed it up with proof. Initially I thought she meant she had allies on the inside; she would say things like ‘a little bird’ shared details with her in our meetings. So then I started testing people.”

“That’s why you told me to watch out for Paulie?” Sophie asked, still skeptical but willing to hear Kate’s words.

“Exactly. There were two situations she had intel on where only three people were present: you, me, and Paulie. I assumed she had something on him, but then she started knowing things from our one-on-one conversations.”

“That’s why you stopped having meetings in my office. Are you telling me my office has been bugged this entire time?"

"Yes."

"You let me work for weeks with a bugged office?"

"It's not like there's anything for her to gain from it. She already knows you despise her along with the board and that your agendas don't align. What more could she possibly learn?"

Sophie paused, understanding Kate's position but suddenly thinking back to every late night over the past two weeks with Renee in her office. A small wave of panic shot through her realizing Cobblepot may have picked up on this less than professional affair. She shook her thoughts from it, knowing she couldn't exactly bring this obstacle up to Kate. This would be a later problem; for now, she needed to focus on the information download Kate was providing.

"But what changed? How did you know yours wasn’t bugged?” Sophie asked.

“She told me.”

“And you trusted her?” Sophie asked, incredulous that Kate would take Cobblepot at her word.

“Of course not. I also installed a piece of Wayne technology to muffle any communication,” Kate said casually as though it was a forgettable detail. “The point is, since then no one has accessed my office - authorized or not.”

“And you know that because?”

“Another Wayne Tech thing.”

“Oh, right. I forget well-connected millionaires can just get these things,” Sophie said sarcastically.

“Long story short, Kate didn’t check her log when she got in this morning,” Luke cut in. “So when she realized this folder,” he said, lifting it for dramatic flare, “had been left in her office, she drew her own conclusion.”

There was a moment of silence as Sophie absorbed the information.

“And what, you didn’t have a Wayne Tech thing to check and confirm it?” Sophie asked obviously.

“It was a spur of the moment decision,” Kate excused quickly.

“In other words: no, the well-connected millionaire didn’t think to check,” Luke added.

“This is why you’ve been such a prick,” she said midthought.

“I think that’s just her nature,” Luke chimed in, ignoring a mock look of hurt from Kate.

“Why didn’t you just tell me?” Sophie asked.

“I tried, remember?” Kate answered. “But you weren’t interested in hearing it. It was actually probably for the best - Cobblepot had her doubts about me, so getting your authentic hatred was what finally sold her I was on her side.”

“‘Hatred’ is harsh,” Sophie corrected.

“But not wrong,” Kate said as she watched Sophie avert her gaze.

“So what does this have to do with last night?” Sophie asked, redirecting the topic.

“No idea. But I think it’s connected.”

“How?”

“No idea. That’s what all of this is for,” she said, gesturing at the file-laden table.

“Does anyone else know about this?”

“No idea.”

“But wha-”

“I think Kate’s made it pretty clear she has no idea,” Luke interjected. “Which is why we’re here.”

“That’s the idea,” Kate replied. “I could try doing this myself, but I’m only marginally competent. You know Crow Security like the back of your hand, and Luke is a genius. Between the three of us, I feel like we might have a fighting chance at untangling everything.

Sophie stared between Kate, Luke, and the files. “There must be over a hundred hours of work here.”

“And the sooner we get through it, the sooner we can get back to paint chips,” Luke said, giving Kate a side-eyed glance of faux annoyance.

“Well I hope you ordered food.”

“Pizza?” Luke offered

“No olives,” came Kate and Sophie’s reply in unison.

“You don’t like olives either?!” Luke asked Sophie dumbfounded.

“What? No, I love olives. Kate can’t stand them.”

* * *

“What was Zienko doing there?” Kate pondered aloud. She was doing an audit of the Crow task force present the night before in an effort to find red flags that might help them figure out who set the explosives. They speculated that there could be a connection between any adjustments to the roster from the original strategy.

“Bohashka?” Sophie asked in reply.

“Yea. He’s that bald Ukranian, right?”

“Yea, he’s also supposed to be suspended,” Sophie said darkly, her brow furrowing in confusion.

“What for?” Luke chimed in.

“Setting the explosives at the Crowne buildings,” Kate answered. 

“Six months, unpaid. I issued the suspension myself,” Sophie continued.

“Apparently he was with the first squad.”

“That’s impossible. He doesn’t have access to the facility let alone authority to be on an active site. Who else was with him?”

“Marcus James, Jason Morley, Jackson Lloyd, and -”

“Don't tell me -”

"Paulie."

Sophie sighed, bringing her fingers up to the bridge of her nose.

“Is this?”

“Jacob’s Five?” Sophie replied. 

“Yea.”

“Yep.”

“Hey, sorry,” Luke cut in again. “Can I get some context?”

Even with the seriousness of what they’d just discovered, Kate couldn’t help but break into a smile. “Sophie?” Kate offered.

“Since the Crows began, something like three hundred plebes-”

“Still can’t believe he uses that word,” Kate cut in, shaking her head at the throwback to the name used for first-year cadets at Point Rock.

“I know, right?”

"He thought he was so original-"

“Guys… context.”

“Right. Sorry. The Crows have cycled through hundreds of recruits since it started. Jacob oversees the training sessions of all incoming classes, and over the years, he’s tapped his favorites and they’ve always conspicuously accelerated through the ranks.”

“Sophie was the first,” Kate added. “And since then, only five others have met his standards. I’ve only met Marcus once at a dinner, but when dad needs something done right, he brings in his closest ring."

"Generally they’ve all walked in with some previous experience and expertise. A specialty of sorts. Zienko's skills are in explosives. Marcus is known for his hand-to-hand combat."

"And knives. Don't forget the knives," Kate chimed in before adding, "It was a weird dinner. But Paulie confuses me - he always seems so jumpy and unsure. I didn't realize he was in the group."

"It's complicated. He's the best mixed martial arts fighter the Crows have ever seen, and Jacob wants that to round out the team."

"But?"

Sophie sighed. "He's just a kid who grew up on the wrong side of the river jumping from foster home to foster home. He's smart and knows some of the jobs are crooked which has him reluctant to partake, but the group accepts him. He’s never had that so he goes along."

"That's why you've been mentoring him."

Sophie nodded.

“Wait, if Sophie is one, why isn’t it Jacob’s Six?”

"Well,  _ they _ technically call themselves  _ The Murder of Crows _ . Jacob's Five is an unofficial nickname. Internally everyone refers to it as ‘JF’ for short: Jacob's Five, Jacob's Favorites - take your pick," Kate replied.

"Ok, fine. But you haven't answered my question. Wouldn't Sophie be in this  _ Murder of Crows _ business?" Luke continued.

“No. Because I don’t do shady shit.”

"It's also why she's his number two," Kate added.

" _ Was, _ " Sophie corrected.

"Whatever. The difference is that Sophie's the only one who's ever told him no, and that matters when it comes to picking a second in command. Someone who can think on her own doesn't work when you're compiling a group of blunt instruments but it does when finding reliable leadership. It's why the others have never been promoted past Lead Squad. He's got his favorite weapons, and then there's his favorite people - that's Sophie."

Sophie and Luke both stared in surprise at Kate's assessment. 

"What? Dad liked to brag about you," she continued dismissively. "The point is that all five of them were in the first squad, and somehow Zienko's name ended up on this list effectively overriding his suspension and giving him the clearance to blow up yet  _ another _ building."

"Who has the authority to shorten a suspension?" Luke asked.

"Presumably that power lies with the Lead Crow," Kate replied.

"Yea, well, we've seen how effective that's been," Sophie said darkly, a scowl cast over her face. 

“I hate to say it, but we should probably assume Jacob was in on this until we find evidence to the contrary,” Kate said.

“Guilty until proven innocent?” Luke asked.

“Pretty much. For Zienko, how can we find out who else has the power to shorten suspensions?”

"We should check the bylaws. I can't say for certain that power is exclusive to Lead Crow,” Sophie replied. “So whoever else holds that power will be a pretty obvious bit of proof they were behind it.”

"On it," Luke jumped in.

"You sure? They're long and pretty boring."

"Luke thrives on the mundane. He's the reason we closed on this building so quickly," Kate said while silently rattling off all the other Batwoman-related finds.

"Ok… let me download a copy from the server," Sophie said. "Do you have a background in this stuff or…?"

"No, he's just crazy smart."

"Oh?"

_ M-I-T _ , Kate mouthed to Sophie.

"MIT?" Sophie responded aloud. Luke's head shot around at Kate who attempted a look of innocence. "Wait, how do you two know each other again?"

“Oh, just a friend of a friend,” Kate replied quickly.

"Actually, that's a funny story -"

"Luke," Kate admonished, but the mischievous look on Luke's face told her he wasn't heeding it.

"Before this gig I used to work for Wayne Enterprise. I caught her trespassing in Wayne Tower-"

"It was a misunderstanding-"

"- she had literally scaled the entire building -"

"- you're exaggerating -"

"- broke into Bruce's old office -"

"- the window was unlocked -"

"- and handcuffed me to a file drawer-"

"- only after he cuffed me first-"

"- and then she broke into Wayne's surveillance system-"

" - is it really 'breaking in' if I knew the password -"

"- to access footage-"

"Luke-"

"- of Alice’s crew nabbing you."

" _ Luke _ ."

Luke paused, glancing over at Kate whose face was emanating annoyance while he wore the same mischievous grin as before, a glint of satisfaction in his eyes.

"You are  _ so _ pleased with yourself right now,” Kate muttered at Luke, cursing his boyish grin.

Sophie had bounced between the two, trying to keep track of the competing tellings. "To access footage of what?" she asked.

Luke remained silent at this, looking expectantly at Kate.

“Oh,  _ now _ you’re done talking?”

“Guys,” Sophie pressed. “What are you talking about?”

Kate sighed before continuing, “When Alice’s goons took you, the Crows attempted to trace you through local surveillance systems, but they quickly discovered all surrounding areas had been cut off. I remembered from visiting Bruce as a kid that Wayne Enterprise had surveillance feeds separate from the city grid; it generally covered the same areas but with different angles. At the time it seemed like a viable alternative."

“Seemed? Kate, it literally gave the Crows their only lead,” Luke interjected. Kate gaped back at him; he clearly was not getting her subtle looks to drop the subject.

“Well aren’t you the selective talker tonight,” Kate shot back with a 'don’t-say-another-word' look. Luke flinched slightly, but his face suggested he wouldn’t be taking her look to heart.

"Hang on," Sophie said, digesting Kate’s words. "You were Individual 1?”

“Huh?” Now it was Luke and Kate’s turn to stare at Sophie in confusion.

“When final reports are written, only names of the Crow task force are included to protect the identities of any civilians involved. Only those active on the case ever have access to the unredacted names unless you’re Lead Crow or the case gets reopened, so, my not actually being on the task force meant I only saw the redacted copy. It didn't occur to me to look at it after being promoted. In it, Individual 1 was credited with supplying the footage you mentioned,” she said, pausing to take in Luke’s nod of understanding. “Individual 1 was also cited as being the first to track Alice to the orphanage, beating the Crows by nearly twenty minutes and just narrowly missing me in the process. After managing to knock out a handful of Alice’s guys, it said Individual 1 was also temporarily captured then released hours later… you’re telling me that was you?”

“Technically it was eight… a handful suggests only five,” Luke corrected playfully.

“That is so not the point, Luke,” Kate remarked dismissively. 

“Actually, I’d say that’s very on point, Kate,” Sophie interjected, her voice raising in… annoyance? Kate grew confused by Sophie’s reaction. “We’ve talked about that day twice now, and not once did you fess up to being the one who saved my life.”

“Well, technically that was Batwoman,” Kate offered jokingly.

“Would you stop trying to downplay this for a second?” Sophie demanded, catching Kate off guard. Luke and Kate stared at Sophie in muted surprise and Sophie fell quiet for a moment, deep in thought. She realized it would be the first time she’d utter the story out loud, and the weight of it was just sinking in: “Alice’s movie-in-the-park was her back-up plan for me.”

“Wh- what?” Kate stared back, her playful tone now gone. Luke equally sobered to Sophie’s words.

“That… that wasn't the original game plan. It was all nonsense to me at the time; what they were saying sounded like crazy talk, but after seeing it for real in other instances I know it's true.”

“What was the original plan?” Luke asked, unsure whether he actually wanted to know.

Sophie paused for a second before continuing.

“They had planned to have Mouse impersonate me to infiltrate the Crows; to mess with Jacob. I didn’t fully understand what they meant at the time, but now… with everything that we’ve seen, it’s pretty obvious.”

“Sophie… I…” Kate began but couldn’t put her thoughts to words. She watched helplessly as she saw Sophie reimagining the night in question.

“I was literally tied down with general anesthesia being forced through a facemask. I’ve tried for months to remember what happened - to figure out how I woke up unharmed after Alice told me I’d be dead,” Sophie continued, a single tear rolling down her cheek. She angrily wiped it away. “And now you two are telling me the reason why I’m still alive - why I’m sitting here is because of you? Waiting another twenty minutes for the Crows to show up and I'd have been done - gone. Those twenty minutes were everything, Kate.”

Sophie's words seemed to echo infinitely off the walls as Luke and Kate sat wordlessly in response. Finally it was Luke who recovered first.

“I should check the building; it’s been a while since our last round,” Luke said, beginning to stand to leave.

“I’d actually rather you stay - apparently that’s the only way to get any honesty out of Kate these days,” Sophie accused. She stared at Kate who looked about as uncomfortable as Sophie had ever seen.

“It’s fine, Luke; go on ahead,” Kate said, excusing an appreciative Luke. He glanced quickly at Sophie before darting from the flat. The door shutting behind him resonated through the silent tension that had overtaken the room.

Sophie wasn’t sure why she suddenly felt so angry at Kate. Perhaps it had been weeks of feeling deceived by her only to, in the matter of a few hours, be told that deception was an act. Or maybe it was that, wherever she turned, Kate was always there trying to put out her fires. To learn now of Kate’s actions from so many months ago had broken the camel's back.

“So what’s your excuse for this one?” Sophie asked, cutting the tension like a knife.

“Soph, I-”

“It’s  _ Sophie _ , Kate,” Sophie warned.

Kate looked like she had just been slapped, her words failing her. To anyone else, Sophie's interjection would seem a minor correction, but for Kate, it meant so much more. In a flash, she felt transported back to a memory like it was yesterday:

_ “Hey." _

_ "Mhm?" _

_ "I didn’t know you don’t like being called ‘Soph’.” _

_ They were laying on Kate’s bed, having wasted away the morning hours to lazy naps and limb-tangled snuggling. Kate’s head was supported by one of her hands, propped up by her elbow, the other was dancing lightly over Sophie’s stomach. _

_ “Hm?” Sophie replied, her eyes still closed, but a small furrow to her brow appeared in response.  _

_ Kate’s mind had been wandering aimlessly when she settled on a memory from the day before; she had walked in on Sophie and James in heated dialogue about some current events assignment. He had tried tempering Sophie’s animated debate by calling her ‘Soph’ which, after telling him off for dubbing her that shortened name, only made her more intent on proving her point. _

_ “I call you ‘Soph’ all the time.” _

_ “I don’t mind so much when you call me it,” Sophie sighed in reply. _

_ “So you  _ don’t _ like it,” Kate tried to clarify. _

_ Sophie opened her eyes and stared back at Kate confusedly. _

_ “I just don’t want to call you something you don’t like. You should have told me,” Kate reasoned, her face serious and full of worry. _

_ A small smile danced across Sophie’s lips. “I like it when you say it.” _

__

“I just don't get it Kate," Sophie said, her tone softer now. It almost sounded resigned, as though her want to fight had suddenly drained away.

"Get what?" Kate asked, pulled out of the memory.

"Why do you think you need to protect me?" Sophie asked simply. They both knew her words weren't exclusive to this recent event. They harked back to their first year at Point Rock together. "If I counted all the times you jumped in to… to be the hero… just - just stop, ok?" Sophie continued, her voice quiet but shaking with irritation. 

"What? No. I'm not trying to be the hero," Kate replied, confused by Sophie's transition.

"I'm serious Kate. It's more than that. I can’t keep doing this hot and cold with you. One day I'm in the dark without a clue what's going on and the next you tell me some master plan you've cooked up and expect me to just roll with it."

"And if you're in danger?"

"That is literally my job, Kate. I'm a Crow. I will always be in danger," Sophie shot back. "You had no problem with it for the last three years while you toured the world, so why should now be any different?"

Kate could only stare back at Sophie. She wasn't wrong: Kate had managed to shake herself of Sophie's ghost in her travels, but she also knew a call like the one Mary made would always bring her back.

She wrestled with ways the conversation could go, but she knew none would address Sophie's frustrations. The silence was broken by the sound of footsteps in the hall, and Kate gave a small sigh of relief that she wouldn’t have to respond yet. Luke had taken a suspiciously short amount of time to check the building, and Kate wondered if he knew things would unravel quickly if he was gone for too long.

"Let’s just get through this stuff,” Sophie continued, also hearing the footsteps. She wasn’t ready to end the conversation, but she also knew she had better chances at winning the lottery than having an open, honest conversation with Kate anymore.

“Sure,” Kate replied simply.

“All clear,” came Luke’s voice at the door.

“That’s great.” / “Good,” they both replied sharply.

Luke glanced at Kate questioningly and her face told him they’d talk about it later.

“So… find anything while I was out?”


	15. Chapter 15

“You can take that if you need to,” Kate said, breaking the silence as the table started vibrating for the seventh time that evening.

“It’s fine. It can wait,” Sophie said quickly, rejecting another phone call from Renee and placing it on silent. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to talk to Renee - to the contrary: with the growing tension at the flat, she was anxious to be done with the evening of research. She had spent the last hour hoping for a break in their searching for a multitude of reasons. The first was that it would calm her growing anxiety that she didn’t really have control of anything going on within the Crows. The second was that it would prove she wasn’t going crazy; she knew she hadn’t issued a revised Dent plan, but the longer they went without a shred of evidence to the contrary, the more she was doubting herself. The third was that it would break the tension in the room. After Luke had returned from his ‘search’ of the building, they’d collectively said less than a hundred words between them. It wasn’t productive, and she knew if it remained they’d lose out on a prime opportunity to build a case that a thread of corruption within the Crows existed.

“Aha, finally,” came Luke’s voice from the armchair. He’d migrated closer to the fire after Kate refused to listen to him complain about the lack of heat for a minute longer. 

_ “You literally have three outfits on.” _

“ _ That doesn’t mean I can’t still be cold.” _

Since then, he had been reviewing the Crows’ bylaws for information on suspensions from the comfort of the cushioned chair. In contrast, Kate and Sophie had remained at the table, flipping through file after file.

“Get something?” Sophie asked, grateful for the chance to get up from the shared table. It was large enough for four people, but somehow it had felt confining sitting next to Kate for so long. She walked over to Luke, her own laptop and stack of files in tow and settled onto the far end of the couch.

“Yea, finally. Honestly it’s a wonder anyone can make rhyme or reason of these bylaws. There is absolutely no rationalization to how they’re written, but I think I’ve found it.”

“What’s it say?” Kate asked, unmoved from the table.

“Either a unanimous vote from the board  _ or _ two letters of reference by individual board members, if submitted for record, may be used to override a suspension of any member. The exception is with the position of Lead Crow. The Lead Crow can only be reinstated through a formal board vote.”

“Two? That makes no sense. Twenty percent of the board can overrule the Lead Crow’s right to suspend? What kind of veto power is that?” Sophie thought out loud.

“If I had to guess based on how terribly these bylaws were written, someone snuck it along with a boatload of other loopholes into this document. It would take me another day to untangle the nonsense of it all.”

“But we’ve got what we need, right? We know how Zienko could have been reinstated. It wasn’t a board vote, because there was never one brought up as new business which means it had to have been specific board members,” Kate pondered from across the flat.

“Sure, but we still don’t know which ones,” Sophie challenged back.

“That’s exactly the problem,” Luke continued. “The bylaws require a reference letter be submitted for record, but I’ve found nothing in this entire document that identifies  _ where _ they’re submitted.”

“So we’re not any further along than when we started,” Kate said dejectedly.

“Not exactly,” Sophie said after a moment. “We can infer Cobblepot was behind it. That much has been clarified with Luke’s reading of the bylaws. Let’s assume it’s a given she was involved. Now we just need to focus our attention on ‘why’.”

“If my ‘conspiracy’ is anything to go on, we can probably draw some conclusions, but that doesn’t mean we have any proof,” Kate countered, playing devil’s advocate. “If we can’t peg her to anything, it doesn’t matter.”

“But we do have some things: we know Cobblepot has motivation to shift the Crows toward a surveillance-oriented company. We also know two big-name surveillance firms have just merged and Cobblepot is a member on both boards. How that’s not a conflict of interest is beyond me, but I stopped questioning the ethics of these people months ago.”

“So now what?”

“I could bring it up to the board,” Kate offered.

“That will just raise suspicion from the wrong people. We need to think about this holistically: for Cobblepot to even know Zienko was an option to unsuspend, she’d have to have known he was suspended.”

“She would know for the same reason I know: you submit all those weekly briefings. I think it was recorded in one of those?”

“Ok, sure, but those reports are key points only. I’ll double check, but I’m pretty sure I would have only included that he was suspended. If more information was required, it would have been requested during the board meetings and passed down through you to me. That never happened.”

“So you’re saying Cobblepot might know Zienko was suspended but not ‘why’?” Luke asked. 

“Right.”

“People talk though. It sounds like he’s got a reputation,” Luke offered.

“But Cobblepot is calculated. She wouldn’t risk exposure with someone untested. Either she has an existing relationship with him or-”

“Dad was involved,” Kate said. They’d alluded to it earlier, but Kate wasn’t ready to believe her dad had fallen to such levels as allying with Cobblepot. Sophie had a point. She glanced at the time and realized it was too late to do anything about him tonight.

“I hate to say it, but I think it’s a worthwhile theory,” Sophie said. “We shouldn’t rule out anything else, but until we know for certain…”

“It’s too late tonight,” Kate said after a moment. “I’ll call him tomorrow and make it seem like I need advice to cover up my own blunder in issuing the wrong report. At the very least it’ll keep up the appearance that you pulled a fast one on me.”

“In the meantime, I think we should also determine Cobblepot’s motive,” Sophie continued, nodding in approval at Kate’s strategy. “Sure, she’s working with the surveillance concept in mind, but what exactly is that? Is it a buy-out? Is she going for a monopoly on city-wide surveillance? It’s strange that she’s trying to undermine the Crows’ authority if she wants to maintain any credibility. Do we know anything about the building?”

“Better yet, do we know anything about the Duela Dent intel? Is it even real?” Luke asked. Over the course of the evening, news had trickled in that so far only one victim had been found in the rubble. The victim’s identity remained unknown, but Sophie was able to source from Renee and her GCPD contacts that it wasn’t Duela Dent. This called the entire night’s activities into question. While Kate and Luke couldn’t admit it, they knew there was only one other person in the building that night. If it wasn’t Duela Dent, it was likely she may not have even been at the site in question.

“I took it at face value. I can’t audit every report that crosses my desk,” Sophie admitted. “Typically these things go through three-levels of verification before it reaches Lead Crow. I have to assume it is legitimate.”   
  
“That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t give it a fourth round of verification,” Kate said thoughtfully, silently echoing Luke’s conclusions that the intel may be false.

“Yea, fair. Let’s add it to the list. Who wants it?”

“I’ll take the building,” Kate claimed.

“I can take the Dent intel; it doesn’t make much sense to keep reading the bylaws,” Luke offered.

“Great,” Sophie said. She glanced between Kate and Luke, suddenly grateful that they were here. Kate was right that it would have taken one person ages to filter through all of the nuanced details, and even then, tunneling down the different rabbit holes alone could make tying it all together more difficult. They were making progress.

* * *

“Hey Kate, I…” Luke began before falling silent at Kate’s face. She had lifted her finger to her lips, glancing over to the couch. A small smile crept over his face as he got up from the armchair and joined Kate at the table.

“You knew this would happen,” Luke commented softly, watching Kate watch Sophie. There was a bittersweetness to Kate’s face: a happy sadness as she stared at Sophie’s sleeping form.

“I had a hunch,” Kate responded simply. She wasn’t inexperienced in the ways of Sophie Moore. A handful of crises at Point Rock had taught her that Sophie’ ability to worry herself sick meant forgoing food, rest, and logic until she had found a solution. It was one reason Kate's tendency was to bypass Sophie until she had a solution. To get her to realize there was light at the end of the tunnel usually broke the spell, and after the two days she’d had, it wasn’t a surprise she crashed hard. That Luke had found information in the bylaws had opened up a clearer direction. 

“What I said a few months ago - about not being able to have a relationship with… well, you know. It’s just that - I see the way you look at her, and, even when you're at each other’s throats, you two are… I guess what I’m saying is you cou-”

“She’s seeing someone,” Kate interrupted Luke, sensing where his comment was going. It was the first time she’d uttered the words aloud, and it didn’t make the reality of it any easier. She swallowed through the tightness in her throat, trying to keep her emotions in check.

Luke stared back in surprise “What? How do you know?”

“Technically  _ ‘I’ _ don’t know,” Kate corrected. "But Batwoman…"

“She was home the other night,” Luke realized, watching Kate nod in confirmation. “I’m sorry Kate. I had no idea.”

Of course he would apologize for not knowing something she had intentionally kept from him. 

“It’s for the best. She deserves some happiness,” Kate smiled sadly back at Luke.

“And what about you?”

“What about me?”

“What about your happiness?”

“I thought that's what I had you for,” Kate responded easily, causing a grin to break Luke’s seriousness. “You’re a good friend, Luke.”

* * *

The sound of soft, muffled whispering drew Sophie from her sleep. Her eyelids felt heavy, but she managed to open them wide enough to blurrily make out the fireplace from across the room. The crackling wood echoed pleasantly against the unfinished walls of the flat, and Sophie realized a heavy blanket had been placed over her providing a warm barrier against the chill of the unconditioned space. Even in its raw state, there was something comforting about everything.

After a moment of silence, the whispers returned and Sophie’s eyes wandered to the source: on the opposite side of the couch was Kate, unaware Sophie was awake, focused on a file propped up on her crossed-leg. Sophie smiled softly at this: Kate had a habit of reading aloud to herself when deep in thought. She dug through her memories trying to recall the first time she had noticed it, but like so many other things about Kate, it was all blurred together into her make-up.

Sophie closed her eyes, taking in the mixture of sounds and sighed contentedly. After everything that had gone on the last few months, she felt a sense of peace with Kate by her side - even if they weren't on the best terms. 

Their argument from earlier buzzed through Sophie's mind. She regretted the walls she kept building between her and Kate. Of anyone in the world, she knew Kate was the one person who would always have her back - even when it wasn't what Sophie wanted. The night's reveal of Kate's involvement in her rescue from Alice was just another example to add to the list of times Kate prioritized Sophie's wellbeing over everything. Kate could have easily gotten herself killed in the process. Hindsight afforded them a chance to diminish Kate's act, but she didn't know Alice was secretly Beth when she charged into the orphanage to find Sophie all those months ago.

It was things like this that gave Sophie confidence. She had lost it for a few weeks when Kate's intentions were unclear to Sophie, but now that she knew Kate was safely in her corner, she afforded herself a moment to relax. They still didn't yet know how things were happening, but pieces were being revealed. In time they would connect the dots.

On the other side of the couch, Kate was trying to make sense of the insurance claims issued to and signed by the Crows. They were related to the various buildings that had recently been destroyed, and, on the surface, looked like a formality to ensure the claims went through quickly, but upon closer inspection, they were written in a curious way that wove the incidents through a series of loopholes that guaranteed the largest payout. In all but the first building, this was the case, and Kate suspected there was more to it.

She looked up to get Luke’s attention and realized he, like Sophie, was fast asleep, albeit uncomfortably-looking with his body poorly slumped in the armchair across from her. She considered leaving him there, but knew his neck would regret it the next morning. So instead, she took a slow, readying breath, and pulled herself up from the couch, exhaling sharply at the now familiar shot of pain down her chest. She paused to steady herself before walking over to Luke and prodding him gently on the shoulder.

He reacted with a jolt, but quieted when he realized it was just Kate.

"You looked uncomfortable," Kate whispered. Luke nodded sleepily back at Kate. "Why don't you move to the bed?"

"No, that's your bed," he replied irrationally through the haze of sleep.

Kate smirked in the dark, "Luke, there's plenty of space. You can thank me in the morning."

After a bleary moment of confusion he finally gave in, lifting himself from the chair and traipsing to the other side of the loft before rolling onto the bed and curling up beneath a blanket. Within seconds his breathing reverted to a rhythmic state of sleep.

Kate watched him go, contemplating calling it a night herself. Her eyes were heavy with sleepiness, but she wanted to finish reviewing the insurance claims while it was still fresh. According to Luke, Batwoman was out of commission for the next few days, so the least she could do was use that time to advance this work. She slowly lowered herself onto the couch, her breath catching against the tightness in her chest.

“Are you ok?” came a voice from the couch.

Kate turned and saw Sophie’s bright eyes glowing through the dim room. “Sorry?”

“Just now - did… are you ok?" She repeated.

“Oh, uh… l-leg fell asleep,” Kate said after a second of searching for an excuse. She glanced at Sophie who was still eyeing her skeptically. “You warm enough?” Kate asked, pivoting the conversation.

“Oh, yea. Thanks for this,” Sophie replied, gesturing to the blanket.

“No problem. If you want another one I can steal it from Luke. The heat won't be hooked up for another week or so.”

“Ah,” Sophie replied. They looked away from each other, both treading lightly to avoid another row.

“So, did you find anything… er… good?”

"Maybe… but it's a tomorrow problem," Kate said, her tone fake and professional.

"Yea, I should probably get going. Do you have the time?"

"You should stay," Kate said without thinking. "Er, I mean, just that - you're welcome to stay over - it's nearly two. Unless you need to be home for something."

Kate cringed at her lack of subtlety. She was fishing for a hint that Sophie would reveal information about her new fling, but instead she just stared back at her curiously. "I'm sure my plants can survive a few more hours on their own."

"I hope they're house-trained," Kate countered, trying to make light of her suggestion.

"It's been a tough few months, but they're finally sleeping through the night," Sophie replied with mock seriousness.

Kate let out a soft chuckle, regretting it only for the sharp pain that accompanied. She subconsciously slid her left hand up to her side to feel the tender part of her rib cage gauging whether it felt any less sensitive than that morning. It was, but she wished Mary had given her a few more painkillers to get through another day. She speculated Mary was only trying to prove a point that she needed checked out, but Kate was committed to her stubbornness.

"You keep doing that," Sophie said, nodding at Kate's hand.

"Doing what?"

"With your side."

"Oh? I hadn’t noticed."

Sophie remained silent, her scrutinizing stare doing all the talking.

"It's nothing," Kate continued, kicking herself for overlooking Sophie's critical eye. She was impossibly quick to notice things, and Kate couldn't recall how frequently she had reached for her ribs over the course of the night. She guessed less than a handful, but that was plenty enough for Sophie to notice the habit.

"What did you do?" Sophie asked, leaning up into a sitting position. It wasn't a request.

"It's nothing."

"Bullshit. Now I know it's something."

"It's just some light bruising."

"From what?"

Kate sighed, quickly scanning her memory. "Remember when I said this building was getting break-ins?"

Sophie's critical gaze fell and was replaced by concern. "What were you thinking? Why didn't you call the police?"

"I guess I got cocky."

“Bones or blood?”

“Bones.”

"Have you had it checked?"

Kate hesitated before shaking her head no.

"Can I take a look?"

"No. I told you, it's just some light bruising."

"That's what you said when you broke your wrist, too."

Kate opened her mouth to argue but words failed her. Instead she sat frozen as Sophie shifted closer to Kate's side of the couch muttering over Kate’s incessant doggedness.

"Always so damn stubborn. It’s amazing you’re still alive. I'm guessing you can't lift your arm," she noted, waiting for Kate to begrudgingly nod in affirmation. "Right, so we'll do this blind," she continued. "Set your arm here," she said, gesturing to the couch arm.

"This really isn't necessary So-"

"In all the time I've known you, there are only two other instances where you've been this distracted by pain. So yes, this is necessary," Sophie said, uncompromising. "Now, your arm?"

Kate knew arguing with Sophie was pointless. She'd made up her mind, and Kate found herself complying and lifting her arm to rest on the couch's arm. 

"See? Was that so hard?" Sophie commented. "If you're good you might even get a My Little Pony band aid."

"I prefer Power Rangers."

"I'll see what we have in stock," Sophie joked, reaching for the hem of Kate's sweatshirt and sliding her hand under it.

"Ok, I'm going to che-"

Kate inhaled sharply.

"I barely touched you" Sophie reacted quickly, her brow furrowed in worry. "If it's that sensitive -."

"No, your hands are  _ freezing _ ."

“Seriously?” Sophie rolled her eyes, taking her hand back and rubbing it with the other. “You walk around with broken ribs all day without a word of complaint, but the moment a cold hand touches you…” 

After a minute she placed it on Kate’s arm.

“Better?”

“Much.”

“You’re unbelievable,” she muttered, slipping her hand back under Kate’s shirt and setting her other hand on Kate’s left shoulder. “Ok, I need you to take a deep, slow breath. It’s going to hurt.”

Kate nodded, feeling Sophie’s fingers track along her skin.

“Let me know if this hurts,” Sophie asked, settling on a spot neither of them could see.

“Yep,” Kate hissed. “That hurts.”

“And here?”

Kate let out another strained sound, “Yep. Worse.”

“You need to keep breathing, Kate, otherwise I’ll lose my spot” Sophie noted, sliding her hand incrementally higher. 

This back and forth continued for another few minutes as Sophie traced the pain along Kate’s ribs. If Kate hadn’t felt so nauseous at the prodding, she’d have realized it was the first time in years the two had been this close with the exception of their Batwoman rendezvous and night at the bar.

“How do you know what you’re doing?” Kate asked, glancing at Sophie’s focused stare. 

“Training,” she said simply, not wanting to break her concentration. “What about here?”

“Less so.”

“How much ‘less so’?”

“Does it matter?”

“Yes, because this is your 2nd rib, and if this or the first hurts like the others, I’m worried you’ve done damage to your brachial plexus,” Sophie replied, her tone serious.

“Much less so,” Kate replied, understanding none of the words Sophie had just said.

“Well, I’m impressed,” Sophie said after another minute, retrieving her hand. “You managed to injure ribs 6 through 10. I don’t think you’ve broken anything, but I’d bet you’ve fractured a number of them. I can’t say for certain though.”

“Does that mean I get my Power Rangers bandaid now?” Kate joked, trying to break Sophie’s intensity.

“So what happened? Did he hit you with a wall? Because that’s a lot of ribs, Kate."

“Why do you assume it was a he?” Kate pointed out.

Sophie wasn’t amused, and Kate sighed before continuing. “I don’t know. It was dark, and, if I had to guess, a pipe was involved. At least that’s what I think given a bunch of copper piping had been stripped out of the service room.”

“You should’ve called the cops.”

“Lesson learned. Next time,” Kate said, waving her hand dismissively at the conversation. 

“Mhm, sure,” Sophie said, knowing Kate learning a lesson from this was about as likely as being struck by lightning.

“How do you know they aren’t broken-broken?” Kate asked suddenly. “Do you have x-ray vision? Because that’s been on my Christmas list for years.”

Sophie smirked. “No, not exactly.”

“I didn’t realize the Crows gave that kind of training.”

“It was more of an in-field training session. When you get blown out of a building, you learn a lot about broken ribs.”

“No shit. Go on,” Kate prodded.

Sophie eyed her skeptically. “Are you actually interested or…?”

“When in my life have I ever been able to feign interest in anything?”

Sophie chuckled. “Fair. I was fresh out of training, and your dad had me running second on a drug bust. In hindsight, it was such a terrible idea - I had so little field experience at that point, you might as well have sent a child in my place. But there I was, calling shots over in Tricorner Yards.”

“Where did the tip come from? Was this an ongoing investigation?"

“Not even. Back then no one tried to hide their drug shipments; they waited till nighttime to do them sure, but it’s not like they tried being sly about it. The amount of planning was as easy as cruising around long enough to find shady characters loitering. Jacob wanted to make an impression by rounding up a handful of outlets in a single night.”

“Did it work?”

“Sort of. Long story short, your dad may have been a little overconfident in his intel. Three squads managed to execute, but two walked into a trap.”

“Let me guess -”

“You’d be right,” Sophie continued. “Half of us had spent the day staking out the site in a warehouse, and just before we were ready to strike it all backfired. I still don’t know if they were tipped off or had planned it all along, but we were completely caught off guard.”

“Any casualties?”

“No, thankfully. Just some battle scars. Two of us managed to retreat through a window onto a set of fire escape stairs while the others were able to bail through a side door. Unfortunately the building was old. Rust had eaten away at the stairs’ framing and before I knew it, I was hitting the pavement two floors down.”

“How bad?”

“Two broken ribs, two fractured, and a punctured lung,” Sophie rattled off as though it was a grocery list. “Oh, and I landed on my thumb of all things, so now I can’t do this,” she said, lifting her hand up and showing a half-assed thumbs up.

“Shit, Soph,” Kate whistled lowly before catching herself. “Er…-ie.”

The lightheartedness of the last few minutes evaporated as Kate’s slip up reminded them of their earlier conversation. It always amazed Kate how they could be in the middle of an argument and forget they were in the middle of the argument. A silence fell between them; Sophie looked like she might say something before returning her gaze to the fireplace.

“I didn’t think they let new buildings have wood-burning fireplaces anymore,” Sophie observed, seemingly in search of transition away from the elephant in the room. 

“I wasn’t trying to trick you,” Kate began, ignoring Sophie’s pivot. After a moment she continued, “I just didn’t think about it. When it happened, it all just felt so… trivial? All I thought I’d done was get you in a worse situation; I thought I had put you in more danger.”

“It’s ok,” Sophie said softly, caught off guard by Kate’s willingness to resurrect their earlier conversation. Normally it was Sophie who pushed through the awkwardness to get any traction. After a moment she continued. “I was overreacting earlier - you couldn’t have known. It’s not like we’re roommates sharing every part of our lives with each other.”

“Mm.” Kate’s gaze was now also focused on the fireplace, a small smile flashing past her lips. “A bit ironic though.”

“How so?”

“Well, you’re here.”

Sophie turned to look at Kate. “What?”

“Aren't we effectively roommates for the night?"

A smile broke Sophie's seriousness, and the glow reminded Kate of her favorite pastime.

“I think that’s what I’m having the hardest time accepting,” she said, her smile fading slightly toward contemplation.

“How do you mean?”

“Us - this. When you came back… I don’t know. I had flashbacks of how we used to be. When I saw you for the first time after everything, I guess I thought… I imagined or hoped, even, that it’d be like we used to be. Maybe it was shortsighted to assume given all that’s happened. We’d gone years without talking, and how we ended things isn't exactly something you can just pretend didn’t happen.”

Kate stayed quiet at this, staring into the soft glow of the fireplace. Everything Sophie was saying Kate had also felt on her return to Gotham. A small piece of her had hoped it would extend beyond friendship, but then Tyler appeared, and Sophie told her to move on. It was news to her that Sophie wanted any of that, too, given how things between them ended at Point Rock and the years of silence that followed.

“And then there was that night at your bar, and for a second I thought we were on track to be us again.”

“I can’t tell you how sorry I am ab-”

“That’s not what I’m talking about, though,” Sophie cut in. Kate noted she didn’t sound upset, it was something different. She turned to look at her and noticed a tear reflecting off her cheek from the fire. Kate didn’t think Sophie even realized it was there as she stared intently into the soft glow. “Maybe that’s not true; I don’t know. I guess I wasn't prepared for something different with you."

"Different doesn't have to be bad," Kate offered. She had meant it to be a passing remark, but she found herself struck by the idea of it. They had years of shared history as well as years of void between them. It was presumptuous to think they'd ever just slide back into their former roles: they'd grown too much individually for that. What had been intended as a throwaway comment suddenly carried weight, and the idea didn't feel so foreign.

"Well how about we make it a better 'different' than whatever this 'different' is," Sophie replied as though reading Kate's mind.

She smiled, turning to look at Sophie. "I could live with that."

In a moment the tension was broken. It was a tension that had been weighing them down for months. From the moment they'd first seen each other until now, there had been an uncertainty about what one was to the other. Both knew it wasn’t something that would be answered or labelled tonight, but suddenly the unknown of their relationship felt accessible. They weren't fighting with their past to return to something that used to be; this was their chance to start different; a better different. Now when Kate looked at Sophie, it carried with it a sense of hope. 

"Of course you'll still have to keep up appearances at the office," Kate remarked. "You know, keep me in check and such."

"You say it like I wouldn’t do that anyway," Sophie shot back.

“Touche.”

Any easy silence fell between them as they stared into the dying embers of the fireplace, and a stifled yawn from Sophie was all the cue they needed.

"It's getting late, and you've had a busy couple of days," Kate said. 

"I won't argue that point," she replied, watching Kate clumsily lift herself off the couch.

"Don't be afraid to breathe normally. It hurts but it'll help if you've damaged your lung," she offered. "And you should probably get a professional opinion. Ask Mary, at the very least. She knows what she's doing."

"Hmm, maybe," Kate replied thoughtfully with no intention to follow through on it. She walked over to the fire and set two extra pieces of wood onto the fire before turning back to the couch. 

"Do you need anything? Another blanket? Water? Night light?"

"The fire will do just fine," Sophie quipped back with a grin.

"All right; goodnight, Sophie."

Sophie flinched slightly.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Ok. If you need anything Luke and I will be… er... ten feet away," she said turning toward Luke's sleeping form splayed across the mattress. A murmur from Sophie made her pause.

“Did you say something?”

"It… it doesn't sound right when you say it like that."

Kate stared back in confusion before the words sank in, and she found herself trying to hide a smirk in understanding.

"Goodnight, Soph."

"Night, Kate," Sophie smiled back.


	16. Chapter 16

"You two were up late," Luke remarked shortly after Sophie left the next morning.

"Yea, I guess."

"Talk about anything interesting?"

"Not really."

"And her hand up your shirt was…?"

Kate looked up in surprise. "Wh- it wasn't anything."

"I feel like there's a joke here. Something about having your hand caught in the cookie jar. Except-"

"Enough-"

"-instead of your hand-"

"-do you always have to do this-"

"-it was Sophie's-"

"-why-"

"-and you were the cookie jar."

They both fell silent, Kate staring at him with red-cheeked annoyance and him staring back with a knowing grin.

"She was checking my ribs."

"Is that what the kids are calling it these days?"

"I'm serious," Kate reasoned.

"And how did she know about them in the first place?"

"Because she's Sophie."

Oddly, her comment made sense to Luke. He'd spent less than a day with her, but he could already tell Sophie's attention to detail was undeniable.

"Anything else?" Luke pressed, searching for a hint that something else might have come out of their late-night chatter.

"Yea," Kate said, staring at her phone. "Duela Dent was just apprehended by the GCPD."

* * *

Sophie had arrived back to her place a different person. For the first time in months she didn’t feel in the dark about everything going on in her life. While she didn’t have all the answers, there was the feeling things were finally going in the right direction.

While on the ride home she’d reached out to Renee, apologizing for ghosting her the previous night. It was during this exchange that a notification about Duela Dent appeared on her phone. She cursed the Gotham Gazette for having the latest scoop on her own case, but even that didn’t dim her outlook. If last night was anything to go off, she was growing suspicious of the Dent tip's authenticity. How the intel passed all three checks to land on her desk was still unclear, but she was willing to bet a year’s salary that Cobblepot was behind it.

The only outstanding concern was about Batwoman. She’d heard nothing and, according to the media circuit, neither had any news outlet. This concern lingered on her mind. She took a small amount of solace in knowing the only victim pulled from the rubble was not the red-cowled vigilante. She’d shifted these worries to the back of her mind the night prior, but the trip home returned it to the forefront. Even if she wasn’t at the bottom of the building, that didn’t mean Batwoman was ok. Worse yet, Sophie wondered if Batwoman felt betrayal in being sent into a building with its fate sealed in explosives. 

Her communication with Batwoman had been shady from the beginning. She frequently received messages from Batwoman but never from the same number. She’d messaged a handful of the unknown numbers used in the past with no reply. This didn’t immediately worry her: if history was anything to go off, she would expect Batwoman to toss any burner, but it didn’t relieve the nagging feeling Batwoman was injured and assuming Sophie was behind it.

It was only when she’d gotten off the lift at her floor and began walking toward the deadend corridor that led to her flat that she saw the skewed shadow against her door. She stalled only for a moment, trying to decipher the shape being cast by the dinghy hall light onto the door’s white-wash finish when, upon closer inspection, she realized the slanted shadow took on the form of a bat. She quickly approached the door and brought her hand up to the slim, scalloped piece of metal. The edges were beveled and sharpened. The silhouette of the shape was familiar, and a small smile appeared across Sophie’s face. She’d dislodged it from the door, noting the small dent would likely eat into her security deposit before entering. Given everything, it was a small fee to know Batwoman was safe.

* * *

"Well, that wasn't as much of a waste of time as I thought it would be," Kate said, returning to the flat. 

"Oh? Good brunch, then?" Luke replied, his face buried in the laptop screen. “Bring me anything?”

He watched a paper bag slide his way, and he gratefully dug into it.

“Is this…?”

“An everything? ‘Course. I’m not an animal.”

“You’re the best,” Luke sighed, pulling out the bagel. "So, what did he say?" he asked before plunging his teeth into it.

"He completely fessed up to helping Margaret."

"No shit. Why?" Luke asked through cream cheese and bread.

"He doesn't have the votes to be reinstated as Lead Crow. He was doing Maragret a favor to guarantee the votes when the time comes - presumably right after the audit wraps up."

“Did he say when he thinks that will be?”

“He doesn’t know, but he said Cobblepot is confident it won’t last another week.”

“Interesting. Doesn’t he need unanimous support from the board if he’s challenging existing leadership?” Luke remarked, his mind still fresh from reading the bylaws the night before.

“You would know better than me.”

“It means you’d have to vote for him as well.”

Kate stared at Luke, realizing the implications of it.

"You gonna tell Sophie?" Luke asked, glancing up from the bagel.

Kate paused. "Do you think I should? I should, right?"

She stared at him, suddenly unsure. She'd spent the last few months keeping everything from Sophie, but after last night it felt wrong to not tell her - especially when it could directly impact her job. That said, she also didn't want to call her up at every twist and turn - she had enough on her plate as it was that Kate pinging her with updates every few hours might not be effective.

Luke could see the uncertainty waffling on Kate's face; he couldn’t recall ever seeing her so indecisive about anything before. This left him even more convinced that Sophie couldn't be dismissed as any normal person for Kate. That she could become undone by something as simple as this had him both worried and intrigued.

"Let's sit on it for a bit. She’s coming by on Wednesday for a debrief anyway, right?"

“Right. Yea, ok.”

* * *

“Just blow it off,” Renee said, her face against the bathroom’s closed door.

“Can’t hear you,” Sophie shouted back through the noise of running water. Renee was about to shout again through the door when the sound of the shower halted. 

“I said, just blow it off,” she said again.

Silence was the only reply, so Renee waited, leaning against the wall for Sophie to reappear. When she did, she was clad in a soft grey towel, running a second one through her hair.

“I can’t just do that,” she said, walking past Renee toward the bedroom.

“Oh, hey girl,” Renee said, pushing herself off the wall and stepping toward Sophie, forgetting her earlier comments. “I’m glad I stopped by when I did.”

Sophie glanced back at Renee’s playful grin and sighed with a small smile. “Unannounced, I might add. You’re a tad early.”

“Am I? Today isn’t daylight savings?” Renee asked innocently, following Sophie into the bedroom.

“First, it’s Wednesday,” Sophie replied, stopping at her dresser.

“Is it?” Renee asked, sliding her hands around Sophie’s towel-clad waist.

“Mhm” Sophie continued playfully, relaxing at Renee’s touch. “And the last time I checked, daylight savings wasn’t a four-hour jump. I distinctly remember texting 11pm.”

“Sounds like I’ve been doing it wrong my entire life, then,” Renee murmured, letting her lips find Sophie’s bare shoulder. “You smell good, babe. What is that?”

“Lilac.”

“Well…” she began, tracing her lips up Sophie’s shoulder to her neck, “I really _lilac_ ,” she said, whispering lightly into Sophie’s ear.

“And I think you’ve spent a little too much time with your old captain,” Sophie chuckled, turning around to face Renee.

“Don’t spoil the mood,” Renee grinned, sliding her hands under the towel.

* * *

“You could give her a call,” Luke offered.

“Not interested,” Kate said from the couch.

“She’s probably got a legitimate reason, Kate.”

“You’re probably right,” Kate dismissed again. She glanced at her watch noting it was now over ninety minutes past when Sophie was due.

“A work thing, maybe?”

“Luke,” Kate said, finally looking up, “drop it, ok?”

* * *

“Is that the time?” Sophie asked, shooting up from the bed, suddenly aware of the dark sky and the fact they’d both dozed off.

“Babe, it’s fine. You even said it wasn’t a big deal,” Renee replied sleepily.

“When?” Sophie asked, getting up and pulling on the clothes she’d meant to dress in two hours earlier. 

“Oh, well… that might’ve been me,” Renee said, thinking back to their earlier conversation.

“Shit,” Sophie muttered.

“Just reschedule,” Renee yawned, not understanding Sophie’s sudden frantic behavior. “Say you had a work thing. Anyone who knows you would believe that.”

“Not with - that won’t work this time,” Sophie fretted, yanking on her top. 

“Who are you meeting with again?”

“No one,” Sophie muttered, rushing out of the bedroom in search of her phone. Once found, she let the screen wash over her face in the darkness, scanning her notifications. When she didn’t see anything from Kate, she felt a pit in her stomach. It was one thing to receive a terse message from Kate, but it was altogether something different to receive nothing.

Sophie waffled, weighing her options. She couldn’t lie to Kate; she’d see right through it, and after the last few days, the last thing she wanted was to revert back to their old ways. Her fingers hovered over the screen:

_I’m sorry._

She watched the message go from ‘delivered’ to ‘read’ in real time, unsure how to continue. She half-hoped Kate would reply, but after another moment of nothing, she knew that wouldn’t happen.

_Can we do it next Wednesday instead?_

Sophie heard Renee calling her from the bedroom as she stared back at her screen. Agonizing seconds passed before she saw her message flip to ‘read’. She stared at the bottom left corner waiting to see three dots appear. When they did, Sophie felt her heart jump to her throat.

_That’s fine._

_Same time?_

_Same place._

Sophie let out a sigh she didn’t know she’d been holding. Setting her phone down, she collapsed onto the couch, her heart still racing.

“You reschedule?” Renee asked from the bedroom doorway.

“Yea.”

“See? What did I say: the job excuse always works.”

* * *

“She reschedule?” Luke asked, seeing Kate set her phone down.

“Yea.”

“See? What did I say: she was probably just working late.”

“Mhm,” Kate said softly, not looking up from her own work. 

* * *

“Did you hear?”

“Paulie, what have I told yo-”

“The audit is done,” he rushed quickly. “They’re submitting the final findings tonight to the City and the board so they have the weekend to review.”

“What did they find?”

“Oh, I-I wouldn’t know, ma’a-Kate.”

Kate gave him a look of sarcastic disbelief with an intensity that caused him to melt into a confession.

“They didn’t find anything… at least - at least, that’s what I’ve heard.”

“Mmm.”

“I thought you’d be happier,” Paulie said quietly, testing his bravery with Kate.

“Do I not look happy, Paulie?”

“Oh, well…”

“And what about you?” Kate asked. “I heard you were a part of the team that set up the explosives for the Dent raid. Should be a relief that wasn’t picked up as anything.”

“Oh, that? That wasn’t going to be a problem-”

“Is that so?” Kate asked, her eyebrows raising in honest surprise.

“I just - I mean, we were just following orders… right?”

Kate eyed him with renewed curiosity before nodding back, “Right, right.”

* * *

Weighed down by bags, Kate fiddled with the apartment keys before stumbling ungracefully into the flat. She’d just hauled a litter of things up the stairs, and was eager to shed the weight. While Luke was warming to Kate returning to the field as Batwoman, he was limiting her outings to every other day, and after the night before, her ribs were grateful to not suit up. 

It also meant having more time on her hands than Kate was used to, and she’d lost her Sunday afternoon jumping from hardware store to hardware store in search of basic materials to start DIY-ing some life into the penthouse space.

The sun was just setting as she moved the last of the bags into the space when the small pink box caught her eye. It was sitting on the far edge of the table, and Kate’s defenses immediately flared.

She glanced around the space, stepping slowly toward the box. On the top was a small hand-written card scrawled in familiar handwriting, and Kate couldn’t help but relax and break into a small smile as she read it:

_Since you won't let us celebrate in person._

_-Luke_

She lifted the lid to reveal a small sprinkle-covered cake beneath.

* * *

“I thought your thing was tomorrow?”

“This is different.”

“That’s too bad. I’m going dress shopping tonight.”

“Oh?”

“I’ve got a little thing this weekend - thought I’d glam up for it.”

“Is that right?” Sophie grinned knowingly. 

“Yea. Nothing big - it’ll just be the who’s who of Gotham in attendance.”

“And who is the who of Gotham?”

“Even snagged a hot date for it,” Renee continued, ignoring the remark as she sidled up to Sophie. 

“Should I be jealous?” Sophie teased back. Two days earlier Sophie had finally built up the courage to ask Renee to a work gathering she’d been invited to in honor of Gotham Security and Covert Surveillance’s recent merger. As Lead Crow, she was expected to attend, and knowing she’d be surrounded by her peers from various companies was daunting.

“Maybe.”

“Hmm, well, tell her you’re taken.”

Renee giggled lightly in reply. “I thought maybe you’d want to help me pick something out.”

Sophie’s face fell. “That sounds great but-”

“But work. It’s ok, I get it,” Renee said, waving off Sophie’s response. “Besides, we’re on the same team now.”

“You accepted?” Sophie asked.

“You’re looking at the newest Crow recruit,” Renee said proudly.

“That’s - wow, that’s great news. Had I known, I’d have rescheduled tonight so we could celebrate,” Sophie lied.

“It’s ok. It just means you’ll just have to wait and see what I pick until this weekend.”

“You can send teasers though,” Sophie remarked.

Renee smirked back at Sophie, “that wouldn’t be very professional now would it, Lead Crow.”

* * *

Kate was in the middle of DIY-ing some electric wiring when a knock broke her concentration. She jumped slightly at the sound, unsure who other than Luke could possibly be in the space. She’d given him a key to the flat, so it didn’t make sense that he’d knock. Lifting herself from the floor, she walked over to the door, pausing hesitantly before pulling it open.

"Hey."

"Hi," Kate said, looking back at Sophie in confusion. "I thought we said Wednesday?"

"We did."

"It's Tuesday."

"Your observation skills have improved. Can I come in?"

"Uh, yea, sure," Kate said, stepping aside and letting Sophie pass into the space. "Wh-what are you doing here though?"

"I figured you could use a drinking buddy tonight," Sophie replied, pulling a bottle out of her bag.

Kate stared back in silence, a gratitude welling toward Sophie’s gesture.

"I didn't… I didn't think you’d remember."

"I remember every year."

“Well, not _every_ year.”

“That one doesn’t count. My track record has been gold ever since. Glasses?”

“Red solo cups?”

“Your safehouse could really use some upgrades. Also, I figured you wouldn't be prepared," Sophie continued, pulling out a set of glassware.

She made quick work uncorking the bottle and pouring a liberal amount into each glass. 

"So, who gets the toast first this year? Your mom or Beth?" she asked, handing Kate a glass.

* * *

"Seriously?"

"Yea."

"She tried befriending Satan..."

"Yep."

"How old?"

"We were maybe seven? She felt bad that Satan didn't have any friends. She thought everyone should have at least one friend."

Sophie broke out into a fit of laughter, her voice echoing off the unfinished walls as Kate regaled her with stories of her and Beth as kids.

"But why would she talk into a sewage grate?"

"She figured it was closer to hell so he could hear her."

"If Diane Moore ever caught me talking to our ditch… " Sophie mused. 

"Mom thought it was hilarious. Dad not so much," Kate continued, sliding the bottle closer and uncorking it before pouring a second into their glasses. "Did I ever tell you about her first boyfriend?"

"That Evan guy, right?"

"Evan Blake, yea."

"He still hosting those orgies?"

"They weren't orgies-"

"Fine. But is he still a… a…" Sophie trailed off, trying to find the right word.

"A prick?"

"Yea."

"Yep."

* * *

"I heard about you and Angelique."

“Hm?” Kate asked, mid-pour on their third of the night.

"Ang-Angelique?" Sophie said, questioning her memory. "That was her name right?" 

"Who?" Kate asked, a scowl of confusion creeping over her face.

"You're… you two were dating, right?" she continued.

"Oh, right. Yea, didn't work out," Kate said, suddenly recalling her fake ex. She mentally cursed Luke for choosing such an absurd name.

“That was fast,” Sophie said a little too casually. Kate glanced in slight surprise before Sophie continued. “I just mean… well, I mean - I didn’t mean that.”

“Probably for the best; our schedules didn’t really align,” Kate said.

“Oh? She couldn’t keep up with the late nights?”

“What?” Kate looked at Sophie in surprise. 

“Oh come on, Kate,” Sophie replied, staring back at Kate in confusion. She cocked her head slightly as she tried getting a read of Kate’s expression. It wasn’t like Kate’s partying was a secret, but her reaction made Sophie curious. “You don’t need to play dumb with me. I know about the partying.”

"Ah, that."

"That?"

"Huh?"

"What else is there?"

"Nothing."

"But you… whatever. Thanks," Sophie said, taking her refreshed glass and raising it to meet Kate's midair.

* * *

"I'm sorry about last week - about bailing, I mean."

"It's fine - work is work," Kate said, offering Sophie the excuse. She watched Sophie consider leaving it at that.

"It wasn't a work thing," she said, admitting to what they both already knew.

"Oh?" Kate said in feigned surprise, giving Sophie the space to continue at will.

"I… Actually I've started seeing someone."

"Really? That's great," Kate said in rehearsed excitement. 

Sophie glanced at Kate in surprise. "Uh, yea, I mean… it is." 

There was a nagging uncertainty to her own words that Sophie couldn't shake.

“Maybe next time message _before_ things get-”

“Don’t,” Sophie interrupted, not wanting Kate to finish her sentence. 

“Hey Soph, I’m… it was a joke. I’m sorry.”

"I just don't want you to find out from someone else,” Sophie continued, deflecting Kate’s remark. “Not that anyone knows, but… you deserve more than finding out through the grapevine."

Kate felt the familiar tightness in her chest, and found herself unsure how to take the news. Of course she already knew Sophie was seeing someone, and she'd spent hours mentally preparing for this conversation to make it seem as inconsequential as possible, but it didn't make the conversation any easier to stomach.

"I don't know about that, but I'm glad you told me."

Kate watched Sophie knock back the rest of her fourth drink.

"So how did you meet? Was it love at first sight?"

"We don't have to do this," Sophie replied, her voice uneasy and strained.

"Does she make you happy?"

"That's a loaded question, Kate. A lot of people make me happy.”

“Sure, but Renee though; she makes you happy?”

“How? How did you know?”

“I didn't - you just confirmed it."

"What? But how…?"

"Oh come on; I'm not that oblivious: you've been living at the office, and you're overseeing Renee's day-to-day. Plus she's also practically living at the office so the correlati-"

“But… but I only just told you," Sophie scowled in contemplation. "How did you-”

“Don’t overthink this, Soph. It was a shot in the dark. It would’ve been really awkward if I was wrong though, am I right?” Kate said with feigned casualness. The truth was that she’d poured over timesheets and documents a week earlier trying to pinpoint who Sophie’s mystery guest was. The timesheet correlation only came after she’d spotted video footage of them coming and going together in the lobby. “So?”

Sophie paused for a moment, “I think so, yea."

Kate forced a small smile onto her face. "Good." She didn’t know what she expected - the last thing she wanted was for Sophie to be in an unhappy relationship again, but the selfish part of her felt heartbroken by the response. She blinked back the sting in her eyes, glancing across at the fireplace, unused from the night prior. Taking a slow, steadying breath, she let her response hang in the air as she reached for the bottle sitting between them.

The sounds of cork on glass followed by a splash of their fifth drink against the heavy-bottomed low-ball broke the silence. Kate tried to remain casual, offering a pour to Sophie who nodded in silent approval. It was then that Kate observed the internal monologue playing out across Sophie’s face; it was a mix of frustration, disappointment, and sadness. After all these years, she still hadn’t developed even a half-decent poker face.

“What is it?” Kate asked, calling out Sophie’s silent indecision.

Sophie looked like she might deny there was anything, but she knew better than to pretend like Kate wasn’t attuned to Sophie's inner-workings.

"There’s something else…" Sophie began before trailing off. 

"Yea?"

"She doesn't know about us," Sophie said. It was only now, confronted with telling Kate, that she realized she’d been down this road before. She’d done it at Point Rock, with Tyler after that, and now Renee. In the eight plus years they’d known each other, she’d lied on three separate occasions about her relationship and history with Kate. She watched a shock of hurt cross Kate’s face before it quickly retreated into her stoic demeanor. It was brief but enough to pull Sophie back to their final day at Point Rock together when she’d walked away from their relationship. She had looked into those same hurt eyes and told her she couldn’t sign away her future.

"What do you mean?" Kate asked, her tone controlled but for a slight crack at the end.

"She knows we went to school together, and she knows I dated another woman while there... I - I just never said it all together. She _knows_ , but she doesn’t _know-know_."

Kate didn't respond. A slight flare of frustration was lit by Sophie's words, and she didn’t trust herself to respond yet. Instead, a dozen thoughts crossed her mind as she tried to reconcile the fact that Sophie had again concealed their history together. While her lying to Tyler about Kate wasn’t ideal, Kate understood it: Sophie wasn’t ready to be out yet, and hiding that part of her was her way of coping with that. What Kate couldn’t understand was why Sophie was again hiding their past from another woman.

"And Kate, I’m sorry I haven’t; I-I know I should tell her. But…" Sophie sighed in her own frustration.

“But what?” Kate pressed, her frustration creeping into her voice and onto her face.

"But I'm afraid to."

"What?” Kate asked in slight surprise. “Why?"

Sophie stared at the glass in her hand, watching the liquid swirl slowly. 

"It’s a bit obvious, no?”

“Clearly not, Sophie, so please... elaborate,” Kate cut in, struggling to understand. There were a million things that Kate could label as obvious, but keeping their relationship a secret from the world was not one of those things.

“You aren't just anyone for me, Kate" she began cautiously. "Maybe in time that will change, but for the last seven-eight years… for right now, it is what it is. And when I think about telling someone about us, it comes with confronting all of that. I can't think of anyone who knows me as well as you do, and that’s even after years of not speaking. You’ve literally walked back into my life like you never left. We just spent the last few weeks at each other's throats, and we're able to rebound like nothing happened. It’s both bewildering and frustrating, and I don’t know how to have that exist inside of another relationship."

Kate sat stunned at Sophie’s words; they resonated so clearly with her own feelings. It had taken no time at all for them to fall into the same familiarity that had started so many years earlier. Kate knew exactly how to get Sophie to react for Cobblepot, and Sophie knew Kate better than she knew herself. With the exception of Batwoman, there wasn’t anything she could keep from Sophie, and even then it had taken a coordinated effort to knock her off that scent.

“Well, you’re a bit of a book,” Kate joked, trying to make light of the gravity of Sophie’s comments.

"You're not wrong, but -"

“It’s a good read."

Sophie rolled her eyes at the poor joke before scowling slightly. “But it's not just that. It's that I also know if push came to shove, I'd be there one hundred percent for you. And maybe it’s presumptuous to say you’d do the same, but you also came back to Gotham when you’d heard I was taken by Alice. That's not exactly a normal thing to bring into a relationship, and more than that, I’m afraid I can’t be that for someone else."

* * *

"I still can't believe you just left him."

"He was fine."

"Man, the number of times Melvin saved our asses… It's a wonder I didn't get expelled sooner."

"Do you ever wonder…"

"Hm?"

Sophie stared into her sixth liquid courage of the night, her mouth and brain feeling permission to speak freely in a way she hadn’t two hours earlier.

"If we hadn't met at Point Rock would we still be together?"

Kate chuckled softly at Sophie's drunken words. "Soph, if we hadn't met at Point Rock, we wouldn't know each other."

"Hm? No, no… I just mean… do you ever think if things were different... Like, if we didn't go to a homophobic school run by a bunch of self righteous old white men-"

"I've missed drunk Sophie," Kate laughed.

Sophie shot a scowl of faux annoyance at Kate before continuing unphased. "If not for all of that, do you think we'd have had a chance?"

Kate's smile shrank slightly. Over the years the thought had crossed her mind. If they'd met at a normal school under normal circumstances, would they still be together? Would they have even gotten together in the first place?

"I don't really think hypotheticals are th-"

"Kate."

"Sophie."

"Answer the question."

Kate looked at Sophie, her eyes glowing with an eight year curiosity. She found herself captured by the warm familiarity of Sophie's face. In all these years she'd never met someone who could match what Sophie was. For Kate, the answer was obvious: yes. Of course they'd still be together. Kate let her eyes glance briefly at Sophie’s lips, imagining for a second that if they were still together she wouldn’t need permission to lean over and kiss them.

“You said she makes you happy?” she asked suddenly.

“What?”

“Renee.”

Kate watched the conflict play out across Sophie’s face. She didn’t need Sophie to reply to know she understood what Kate was suggesting. 

“You should go. I’ll order you a ride.”

Sophie stared back at Kate as she reached for her phone. She knew Kate was right, but she also wished Kate hadn’t said anything. She'd spent the night trying to shake the cloud of growing internal conflict away, and six drinks in wasn't the time to find clarity. Even so, she couldn't help but feel like each additional drink was pointing her toward the right direction. 

“Elam is four minutes away in a red 2019 prius,” Kate said with as much casualness as she could muster.


	17. Chapter 17

"Hey babe!"

Sophie turned around at the familiar voice. Mary was ecstatically marching toward her through the crowd, champagne flute in hand and ignoring the strange looks by fellow party-goers.

"I didn't realize you'd be here!" Sophie said, pleasantly surprised by the disruption. She'd been stuck in endless chatter with the politically minded, and Mary was a refreshing face in the sea of it.

"Hamilton Dynamics," Mary responded easily, waving her hand in disinterest. "Can't let the family name go unrepresented."

"Really?" Sophie said in surprise. 

"No. There’s some other guy here for that; I'm just here for the free booze and press,” Mary quickly admitted, tossing back her drink before grabbing another one off a passing tray. “Is Kate here yet? I heard she was a fellow obligant."

"That’s not a real word."

"Don't care. You see her?"

"Uh, no, I haven't," Sophie replied.

"Hmm, was looking for a party-pal…"

Sophie chuckled. "I don't think she's been up to that lately. The ribs and all," Sophie remarked, distracted by Cobblepot making her way over.

"The what?"

"Hm?" Sophie said, returning her attention to Mary.

"Ribs?"

"She didn't call you," Sophie remarked, unsurprised.

"...about?" Mary asked, eyeing Sophie curiously.

"Kate got attacked in one of those buildings she just bought. Got her ribs beat to hell."

"When?"

"One… two weeks ago?"

"A Thursday?" Mary pressed, her brow furrowing in speculation.

"Uh… I… maybe? Yes?" Sophie replied, staring at Mary in confusion. 

“Right or left side?”

"Right, I think? Hey, chat later? I need to deal with… Margaret, hi!”

* * *

“These things are a real snooze-fest, am I right?” Renee commented as she observed the room full of people dressed to the nines. She was leaning against the bar with a casualness that contrasted strongly with her dress.

“I’ve been to worse,” Kate replied coolly. She had arrived minutes earlier with no plans to stay longer than an hour before bailing.

“What’re you having? Next one’s on me,” Renee joked, knowing full well it was an open bar.

“I’d better not,” Kate answered, looking around for a distraction to get her away from Renee.

“Oh come on, Kate Kane saying no to a drink? I’ve read page 6; I know you can toss them back.”

Kate glanced at Renee’s eagerness with annoyance. She didn't have anything against Renee as a person, but when it came to Sophie, her standards were at a different level. She swallowed her judgments and turned to face the bartender Renee had flagged down.

“Scotch, neat; the peatier, the better,” she said, the bartender nodding in affirmation before stepping back to prepare Renee’s ill-fitting margarita.

“The what?” Renee asked.

“Peaty. Smoky.” 

“Sounds pretentious.”

Kate shrugged indifferently. 

“So what’s this thing for anyway?” Renee continued, trying to make small talk.

“Meet and greet celebration over the merger of Gotham Security and Covert Surveillance,” Kate said, unsure if Renee really had no idea or just didn’t know what else to talk about.

An uncomfortable silence fell between them as they waited for their drinks. Kate wasn’t interested in keeping up small talk with Renee, and it helped that she was distractedly looking around anyway.

“You see Sophie anywhere?”

_ Of course _ , Kate thought. Yes, Kate had seen Sophie; she was the first person she laid her eyes on when she'd arrived. At the time, she was standing in the far corner of the room trapped in a conversation with the Director of Operations at Gotham Security who was failing in dramatic fashion at wooing her. Even at that distance it was impossible not to pick her out from the crowd. She'd found herself staring at the glimpses of Sophie as people circulated between and around them. Sophie herself was glancing around for an excuse and their eyes locked briefly. Kate offered her a knowing smirk as Sophie shot her a glance of faux annoyance, knowing Kate wouldn't be coming to rescue her this time. “Not really on my radar, no.”

Renee scoffed, “Of course not, sorry I asked - ah! Thank you!” she exclaimed with relief as the bartender finally returned. She grabbed her drink and took a much needed drag before eyeing the glass in Kate’s hand skeptically, crinkling her nose.

“ _ That’s _ what you ordered?”

Kate stared back at Renee, bewildered by the accusing question. Kate was having a hard time deciding if Renee was acting this way out of nerves; this room clearly wasn’t her scene. She had come to know Renee as fairly witty and level-headed, but all of their conversation tonight seemed fragmented and distracted.

“Ugh, I can smell it from here. Sophie drinks that crap,” Renee offered unprompted. “Must be a Point Rock thing.”

“Must be,” Kate replied simply, bringing the glass to her lips to hide a small smile. She relished in the smell and flavor of the peatiness, and for a moment, didn’t hear her name being called across the room. A nudge from Renee interrupted her thoughts.

“Hey, I think that dude is trying to get your attention.”

Kate looked up in the direction Renee pointed and settled her eyes on a very familiar face.

“No shit. Melvin?” she called out, a genuine smile appearing for what seemed like the first time in weeks across Kate's face.

"Well if it isn't  _ the  _ Kate Kane," Melvin beamed in response. The event was stiff and professional but all formality was ignored as he scooped her up into a giant bear hug, causing Kate to nearly lose her drink on Renee's dress. “How have you been?”

“Just dandy,” Kate managed, rubbing her side lightly after finding the ground again. “What about you? I heard you we-”

“Hi, there. Melvin is it? Renee Montoya, Crow Task Force,” Renee interrupted. Kate tried restraining her annoyance as her and Melvin paused the conversation to introduce each other.

" _ Presumptive _ ," Kate clarified. She'd seen the paperwork cross her desk a few days earlier and knew her official start date wasn't until Monday.

“If I had known the Crows were nabbing all the most attractive ladies in town, I’d never have signed on with SRR,” Melvin replied smoothly.

“Wrong team, Melvin,” Kate interjected with a grin.

Melvin gaped, “This is my luck. This is why I will never find a woman; all of you are just in it for yourselves.”

“Oh you’ve had your share of chances,” Kate remarked without pity. “It’s not their fault you can’t commit.”

Melvin smiled lightly, waving her off.

“I thought SRR was British?” Renee cut in, her eyes narrowed in skepticism.

“It is,” Melvin answered simply, raising his arm to flag down the bartender.

“But you’re American.”

“But I’ve got a mean British accent and classic English charm,” he winked. Renee scowled back, unsatisfied with Melvin’s deflection as he placed his order.

“So when did you get back? You’ve never been stationed here before,” Kate pivoted quickly. She hadn’t seen him since she’d left the Academy, but he was one of a handful who she stayed in constant contact with over the years. The last time they’d talked was over ten months ago when Melvin went off grid for an undisclosed case, and it was their longest length of time without chatting.

“Just over two weeks ago. I’d have reached out sooner, but they had me make the rounds in D.C. last week before deciding to relocate me to Gotham until my next assignment. It was here or Canada,” he said generically of the world’s second-largest country by land mass.

Melvin continued on about his acclimation to Gotham as Kate glowed with excitement, memories of their time at the Academy buzzing on the edge of her mind. She had a million questions for him and considered suggesting they blow off the rest of the event and grab a few drinks when Melvin interrupted himself in renewed excitement.

“-is that? Shut the front door; yes it is! Sophie Moore is here, too?” Melvin shouted toward the figure talking with two of the Crow board members. She turned in brief annoyance at the interruption until she recognized who had said it and immediately broke into a smile. She quickly excused herself from her conversation and made her way over. She was greeted with the same bear hug Kate had encountered minutes earlier. "Sophie Moore, how are you still as drop-dead gorgeous as the day I met you?"

Sophie blushed at Melvin’s meticulously-timed charm. "I doubt that, but look at you! You look like you haven’t aged a day. It's been, what four years?"

"Nearly five," Melvin corrected, all smiles. 

"And I see some greys," Kate joked.

Melvin waved her off, caught up in his own excitement. "Wow, it is so good to see you, two. And in the same room!”

Sophie was equally all smiles. Nostalgia began creeping in as Kate took in the two old classmates standing next to each other. Even Sophie had softened, almost as though going back in time when there wasn’t a care in the world.

“Look, I’ve got to show my face - shake hands, kiss babies - but we should grab a drink after this thing. I  _ need _ to hear how you two worked things out. I wouldn’t have dreamed you two wo-”

“Drinks sound great,” Kate cut in. She watched Sophie’s face devolve into a tense look as she quickly glanced between Renee and Melvin, but Renee didn’t seem to catch anything unusual, distracted by her drink which only reinforced Kate’s earlier conclusion that Renee was not used to events like this. 

Melvin laughed, “Well, I knew I could count on you to say yes. I’m holding out hope for your better half.”

“Soph? You in?” Kate asked, trying to defuse the conversation.

“Uh, we-”

“It’s  _ Sophie _ ,” Renee cut in, looking up from her glass with a scowl of disapproval on her face. She glanced between the three former classmates who all looked equally shocked by the interruption. It was clear her understanding of their relationship was rocky and incomplete, and Melvin was struggling to pick up on the subtle cues Kate was trying to give off to stay quiet.

Melvin chuckled awkwardly, “What? Tha-”

“That was a running joke back at school,” Kate interjected, communicating silently with a glance at Melvin. “We uh… we all knew she didn’t like being called ‘Soph’ but teased her with it anyway,” Kate replied lamely, unable to come up with a better excuse on the spot.

Renee’s eyes narrowed at Kate, “I’m starting to see why Sophie thinks you’re such an ass.”

Melvin’s eyes widened in surprise as he let out a low  _ woa _ .

“Renee, that- that’s not really -” Sophie began, wanting to defend Kate but unsure how to do so without blatantly admitting what she’d been avoiding for weeks.

“No, she’s probably right,” Kate offered.

“No wonder you hate it so much, babe,” Renee offered sympathetically, softly placing her hand on Sophie’s back.

“No shit,” Melvin muttered to no one in particular, starting to piece together the context.  _ Babe? _ He mouthed to Kate who offered back a ‘let’s talk later’ face. It was enough to temper his curiosity for the moment. For her part, Sophie’s lightness had deteriorated back to her usual sober seriousness. She stepped lightly away from Renee’s hand. To Renee, this was obviously because they were in public and their relationship needed to remain quiet, but to Melvin, he sensed there might be more to it.

“Well, I see at least three other people I need to say ‘hi’ to,” Melvin said, offering an out for the deteriorating conversation. “Soph _ ie _ , any interest in that drink later?” he asked, accentuating the latter part of her name.

“Maybe another time. It was great to see you though,” Sophie offered, her warm smile long gone and instead replaced with a polite demeanor.

“Aww, that’s too bad,” Melvin replied, sincerely disappointed. “I guess I get Ms. Kane all to myself, then.”

Renee scoffed at this, her hostility replacing her general sassiness as she eyed Melvin and Kate standing together. 

“And  _ you _ have some explaining to do,” Melvin whispered in Kate’s ear before stepping away from the conversation.

* * *

“Here you are.”

“Hey Mary, I didn’t know you were a fellow obligant.”

“Ha! I knew it was a word.”

Kate smiled, “It isn’t. I ran into Sophie.”

Mary rolled her eyes as she sat in the seat next to Kate.

“Haven’t seen you in a while,” Mary began casually.

“Busy times, I guess. How’s the clinic going?”

“Dude came in with a kilo of cocaine the other day.”

“No shit. How’d that go over?”

“He offered it as payment. He wanted me to help him with some back pain he had.”

“Really?”

“Turns out his back pain was coming from a knife. So much blood, and since he didn’t know his blood type I had to give him my good stuff.”

“Good stuff?”

“O positive.”

“Ah… er… right.”

“Universal blood type. Works with everyone.”

“I think I’m type O. I could give.”

“No, you’re O negative.”

“Same thing?”

“Your blood is basically useless to me.”

“Probably has too much alcohol in it anyway.”

“Sophie told me about the break-in,” Mary feigned casually.

“Oh," Kate said in surprise before quickly explaining it away. "It was nothing. Took some copper piping.”

“Heard they did a real number on you; ribs, right?” Mary continued, eyeing Kate for a slip-up.

“I think Sophie was embellishing.”

“She also mentioned it happened two weeks ago. It’s funny; about two weeks ago, you know who else came into the clinic with rib damage?”

“RBG?”

“Batwoman.”

* * *

Sophie glanced around for an excuse to leave. She’d somehow found herself trapped in a conversation with Cobblepot for the second time that night. The first had been easy enough to bail out of: the CEO of Covert Surveillance caught Margaret’s eye, and she quickly made her leave to have her with him. Now though, there weren’t as many fresh faces with powerful standing left that Cobblepot hadn’t managed to talk to leaving Sophie as an easy target.

“And that’s why the board is voting on this reinvestment strategy. I think with time you’ll come to appreciate it. It’ll certainly lighten your workload,” Margaret chuckled.

“I’m still not sure we see eye to eye on this, Margaret. Gotham doesn’t need additional surveillance. They need an example they can trust. More cameras will only exacerbate the feeling of being powerless,” Sophie replied coolly.

“Ms. Moore raises some valid points, Margaret,” Alan Duncan said, interrupting the conversation. “We may be a corporation, but not everything is about the bottom line.”

“Oh, Alan, don’t be delusional. Of course not - we’re not in this business to get rich. We’re in it to see results against Gotham’s growing crime numbers. The city’s public leadership hasn’t been able to quell the disorder, and we are in a unique position to make those changes.”

“So you agree with Ms. Moore that building trust is the first step,” Duncan continued, challenging Cobblepot.

Margaret’s smile was unfailing. “I admire the ideals of saving a city from self-destruction, but I won’t let this company be the little boy who puts his finger in the leaking dike. This company is the surveillance that catches the leak before a finger is ever needed.”

“I think the problem with your premise is that it assumes the dike isn’t already leaking,” Sophie remarked.

* * *

“Wait, so you’re saying she has no idea?” Melvin asked, perplexed. Kate shook her head in confirmation. Melvin let out a low whistle. “I give it four weeks.”

“Give what four weeks?”

“That relationship. How long have they been together?”

Kate sat back, trying to recall. Everything about the last few weeks had blended together that she was having a hard time pinpointing when she found out.

“Altogether four? Maybe six weeks?”

Kate and Melvin hadn’t lasted much longer before bailing to a local bar down the street. They’d only just ordered their drinks when Melvin began peppering Kate with questions.

“And you all work together, and she  _ still _ hasn’t figured it out?” Melvin continued, his amazement only growing. “I can’t think of anyone who didn’t know at the Academy. If it wasn't the sexual tension, it was the jealousy or the fact you two weren’t exactly quiet, and those dorm doors were hollow as hell.”

Kate mock glared back at him. She knew Melvin was coming into this thinking that because they worked together her and Sophie were just as close as years ago, and she weighed how much elaboration she should provide. 

“So obviously you need to tell me everything,” he said as though reading Kate’s mind.

“There isn’t enough booze in this bar for that,” Kate joked back.

“Good thing the city is full of them, then,” he countered before ordering another round in anticipation. “So, tell me how you screwed it up with Sophie Moore  _ this time _ .”

* * *

“That Marvin guy was a real tool,” Renee slurred as they entered Sophie’s flat.

“Who? Who’s Marvin?”

“That guy. The one you went to school with. All chiseled and looming with inexplicable charm.”

“Wait, you mean Melvin? Why would you say that?” Sophie asked, stunned by the accusation as she hung her keys and jacket up, watching Renee shed her own bag and walk over to the couch, collapsing on it in one fell swoop.

“Sure, Melvin. That guy. Well, I mean, him  _ and _ Kate. With friends like that, am I right?”

Sophie had been hoping the earlier conversation between them would be forgotten by Renee, but the trajectory of Renee's drinking throughout the night let Sophie know it was still very much on her mind. She had been around a tipsy Renee before, but this was her first experience around a drunk Renee. What Sophie had originally chalked up to nerves was now becoming clear as something more personal.

Renee knew how important the night was for Sophie to save face with the board, and her inviting Renee had been an attempt to temper the growing frustrations that came from spending little time together since the Dent catastrophe. Sophie had made it clear the night would be spent rubbing elbows and playing politics, but she also wanted Renee there for the stolen moments between dry, endless conversation. Now Sophie was dealing with the consequences of one of those moments including her former classmate  _ and _ Kate together.

“Melvin is pretty great, actually. He got me out of a tough situation at school for a while.”

“But he’s friends with Kate.”

“Yea, so?” Sophie replied, trying to anticipate where Renee was going with this.

“And you and Melvin are friends,” Renee continued, thinking out loud.

“Well, I haven’t seen him in years, but yea.”

“But you and Kate weren’t friends. How does that work?”

“It’s not that Kate and I  _ weren’t _ friends,” Sophie said, trying to ease Renee’s self-drawn conclusions.

“That’s not what you said before,” Renee accused.

“I don’t think we’ve ever explicitly talked about it,” Sophie replied, sensing this wasn’t going to be a quick discussion. “The class was small and everyone knew everyone to some degree.”

“But you don’t like Kate.”

“What is your real question, Renee? Because I’m tired and this feels like a tomorrow conversation,” Sophie replied with feigned annoyance, hoping to bluff her way to the end of this conversation as she entered the kitchen.

“Did you run around with Melvin?” Renee asked.

“Yes, Renee. Isn’t that effectively what I just said?” Sophie responded, her anxiety beginning to translate in actual annoyance. “And it’s late, and I’m tired. Can we just go to bed?”

“And Kate?” Renee continued, either not hearing or choosing to ignore Sophie’s plea to suspend the conversation.

“It was a whole group, but yes, if you want to be nuanced about it, sure, we ran around together,” Sophie said, walking to the cabinet and grabbing a glass. She turned the faucet on just as Renee opened her mouth again. “Can’t hear you,” she called over the water.

“I said,” Renee continued, appearing next to the counter, “Did you ever run around with Kate  _ alone _ ?”

* * *

“For someone as smart as you, it surprises me how often you screw things up between you two. I mean,” Melvin chuckled slightly, “If you weren’t so pathetically miserable, I’d suggest you pitch it as a sitcom.”

Kate glared back at Melvin, letting him have his fun as she swirled her near-empty glass. He’d promised to remain quiet during Kate’s regaling of the latest news between her and Sophie, but it wouldn’t be Melvin if he didn’t interject every three sentences with a digressing question or observation. What should have been a five minute tale had now rolled into a full hour.

“Enough,” Kate finally said, “stop beating the horse.”

Melvin raised his hands in surrender, still all smiles. “Ok, ok, fine. But answer me this final riddle Kate: if you’re still so in love with her, why don’t you just tell her? It’s not like she’s head over heels with that Renee character.”

“How do you know?” Kate asked, caught by Melvin’s observation. “Wait, no, that’s not the point. I never said I was still in love with her.”

“Really? I’m almost offended,” Melvin said, clutching at his heart before breaking into another chuckle and knocking back the rest of his drink. “It’s written all over your face, Kate. The way you talk about her, the way you are around her, the way you look at her. You didn’t need to say it. Nothing about you has changed in five years.”

Kate glowered at Melvin for a moment, taking in his knowing gaze before breaking. “You’re annoying, you know?”

“Just tell me I’m right,” Melvin grinned.

Kate waited a beat, staring into her now empty glass. “Fine.”

“Fine, what?”

“You’re right.”

“Knew it!”

“Yes, you win; happy?”

“Only when you tell Sophie how you really feel,” Melvin mused, tapping his glass for another round.

“Can we talk about you now?” Kate asked, suddenly wanting to transition away from the last hour.

“Ah, my second favorite topic.”

“What are you  _ really _ doing here? The SSR doesn’t just leave its agents loose in the states.”

* * *

“So you’re telling me, the girl you dated in secret at school was  _ Kate Kane _ ?” Renee asked, fuming with anger. “And you didn’t think that was something I should know?”

“I’m sorry. I should have told you sooner,” Sophie began, cursing the timing of this conversation.

“Oh, that’s funny, because I feel like if it was up to you I’d never have found out,” Renee continued, her voice ringing off the walls.

“That’s - that’s not true,” Sophie said, lying through her teeth. Renee was practically seething at Sophie from across the room, and Sophie was at a loss for words. She’d played out all the millions of ways she might finally reveal Kate as her ex to Renee, but drunkenly after a business party was apparently the one scenario she missed. “I wanted to tell you - I really did.”

“But?”

“It’s com-”

“If you tell me ‘it’s complicated’ one more time, I’m walking out that door,” Renee challenged back, her arm raised toward the door.

* * *

“And that’s when they asked me to help start up the stateside branch,” Melvin said simply. “With the U.S. special forces getting stripped of authority and funding, they can’t keep up with everything. Plus this administration has made their intentions pretty clear: they don’t trust the intelligence community, so they’re outsourcing it. It’s good business for SRR but shit for anyone who’s worked in the public sector for decades.”

“That’s… wow, that’s amazing. So are you going to? I mean, you’ve wanted to come back to the states for a while, right? After everything with Monica,” Kate said, alluding to Melvin’s youngest sister.

“Yea, I don’t know. It’s a big shift: I like being out in the field. If I take this route, I might as well be behind a desk for the rest of my career.”

“You’ve never let that stop you before.”

“I always forget you know Julia,” Melvin remarked offhandedly. “She’s almost gotten me fired twice, I’ll have you know.”

“Yea, yea, your whole ‘rules are mea-’”

“‘-meant to be broken’ -”

“-philosophy. Yea, you’ve mentioned it once or twice. At least it means you won’t get shot for a while, though,” Kate said alluding to two years earlier when Melvin had taken a bullet to the ribs and wound up in hospital for two weeks.

“Hey, that story has gotten me more dates than-”

“Yea, yea, I know,” Kate interrupted, filled to the max with Melvin’s tales of conquests. Kate knew he embellished them heavily - his sisters would skin him alive if he actually did half the things he said. “So, hypothetically, where would that put you?”

“Well… that’s kind of why I’m here.”

“You’re saying the SSR are looking to set up shop in Gotham? Or Canada?” Kate asked, recalling the earlier conversation.

Melvin laughed, “No, no, not Canada. There’s already an outfit there, and it’s a common layover for stateside agents before trekking across the pond. But yes, Gotham is on the shortlist.”

“Well, shit, that would be amazing. Where else is being considered?”

“Top secret. I’ve already said too much,” Melvin shook his head.

“Oh come on, you can tell me. Who am I going to tell? I’m in real estate, not national security.”

“Nope.”

“Metropolis? Chicago? Coast City?”

“I’m not telling you.”

“National City?”

“Nope.”

“LA? Boston?”

“Kate.”

“Fine,” she huffed.

“You got two right. You’ll never guess the last one.”

“I bet I could try,” she said, the glimmer of an annoying sister flickering devilishly.

Melvin sighed.

“Gotham, Chicago, National City, and Atlanta.”

“Atlanta? What’s in Atlanta?” Kate asked. The first three made some sense, granted, she wouldn’t have pegged Gotham as a contender, but Atlanta?

“Peaches, the largest international airport in the country, and The Walking Dead.”

“Never heard of it,” Kate dismissed. “So what do we need to do to get you  _ here _ ?”

Melvin chuckled. “Well, if I wanted to be  _ here _ , I wouldn’t have to try very hard.”

“Hmm?” Kate asked, distracted by the rest of her drink.

“Gotham Security offered me a job on the spot tonight.”

“They what?” Kate asked, her hand with glass in hand suspended midair. “Who offered it? I didn’t think they’d be hiring given the merger. Aren’t they absorbing Covert Surveillance?”

Melvin eyed her curiously. “I thought you were into real estate.”

“I’m still a board member for the Crows,” Kate excused. “Trying to keep up on the competition otherwise I risk my coffers being depleted.”

“Isn’t that why you’re in real estate?” Melvin teased.

“Yea, but I didn’t say I was any good at it.”

“Mmm, well, I don't know about any of that, but I’ll always entertain anyone willing to wine and dine me.”

“You’re considering it?”

“I’m considering the tasty aged porterhouse at the fancy three-star restaurant they’re taking me to. I promise nothing beyond that.”

* * *

“But why didn’t you just tell me?” Renee asked again, her eyes only slightly softened from twenty minutes earlier. Sophie knew she was toeing the line, and alcohol wasn’t making the conversation any easier with Renee derailing it every few minutes.

Sophie had yet to answer this very basic question, and wasn’t ready to lie to Renee.

“And  _ don’t _ say it’s complicated,” Renee warned.

“Because… I-I... Honestly? At this point, I don’t know. I didn’t think it would be great first-date material. And then it was a week later, and then another week, and I just… how do you tell the person you’re dating that the person making life a living hell is also an ex?”

Renee’s eyes didn’t leave Sophie. They were piercing, and Sophie could feel them interrogating every word Sophie had just said.

“You still love her,” Renee said, saying aloud what Sophie was afraid to. 

“Renee, that’s not-”

"Tell me you're not still in love with her."

Sophie stared back at a loss for words. 

“I’m gonna go.”

“No, please, Renee-”

“Sophie, stop,” Renee cut in. Her eyes were still angry, but there was also a hurt in them.

“Don’t go, please. I want you to stay.”

“I think we both know that’s not what you really want,” Renee said softly, walking toward the door.

“Yes it is,” Sophie rushed, following Renee to the door. “Renee, please. What do I need to say to convince you?”

But Renee’s mind was made up. She grabbed her bag and, in a single motion, unlatched the door and walked out.

* * *

“Ah ha!” Melvin giggled, his face lit up by his cell phone.

“What?” Kate asked, reaching over the bar to retrieve another bottle.

They had closed down the previous bar and, given the time, found themselves at The Hold Up. It had shut down earlier in the night, and Kate and Melvin showed up just as the bar staff was leaving. After a brief exchange of niceties, Melvin and Kate had propped themselves at the bar for an encore of the evening.

“Look,” Melvin said, shoving his phone in Kate’s face. Kate squinted, blinded by the closeness of the screen.

“You’re drunk, man,” Kate said, pushing it away.

“Yea, but I’m still getting that booty call,” Melvin chuckled.

“At this hour?”

“Ladies don’t know how to stay away,” Melvin slurred slightly.

“Who is it this time?”

“Your ex.”

* * *

Kate was cleaning up after helping Melvin into a cab set for Sophie's place. She was reflecting on the night’s conversation, wondering briefly where it might have gone if not for the untimely text from Sophie. They quickly concluded it wasn’t nothing, and that it’d be best for Melvin to be on his way. 

_ “This is the best of both worlds. I get to hang out with my two favorite ladies on the same night,” Melvin had giggled in anticipation. _

_ “What we talked about in there - you can’t tell Sophie any of that.” _

_ “Kate, we aren’t in school anymore.” _

_ “I know.” _

_ “So if it comes up-” _

_ “Melvin. Let her move on,” Kate interrupted. She looked into his eyes and he could tell she meant it. Melvin nodded in understanding. _

_ “You’re making a mistake,” he noted as the car pulled up. _

_ “I know.” _

_ “As long as you know,” Melvin remarked before engulfing her in another hug. _

The bright light of an incoming call broke her from her thoughts. She reached over, grabbing her phone from the bar in surprise.

"Luke? You’re up late."

“We have a problem.”

“What’s going on?”

“I don’t know how to say this.”

"Is everything ok?" Kate said, quickly sobering.

“There was a break in.”

“Where? At the apartment building? Are you ok-”

“No, I’m fine. Kate, it was Wayne Tech.”

Kate reoriented her thinking. Shed expected him to say it was a few teenage hooligans loitering and causing trouble. She was not prepared to think about Batwoman or Wayne Tech for that matter.

“Did anything get taken?” Kate asked.

A long pause followed.

“Luke?”

“Kate… I…. I think they stole the bullet-proof technology. The same bullet-proof technology that's built into the batsuit.”

Now it was Kate’s turn to pause. 

"What do you mean you  _ think _ ? Do you not know?" Kate asked finally, quickly forgetting the dirty glass on the bar as she grabbed her jacket and keys and made for the door. That this technology, if in the wrong hands, could be used to the advantage of someone looking to reign terror. 

"I mean… I'm not sure, but-"

“I’ll be at Wayne Tower in 30.”

* * *

"You're drunk."

"I feel like you're the last person to judge right now," Melvin said. "Calling me-"

"I texted."

"-at all hours of the night-"

"You answered."

"- like some low-level booty call."

"We're not having sex."

"Well then what am I here for?" Melvin feigned shock as he slipped past Sophie into the apartment. "Damn, girl, you have done well for yourself," Melvin whistled. 

"I've seen better," Sophie shot back, dismissing Melvin's transition.

"Yea, but Kate was always rich. You’re a working gal making it big," Melvin replied with a grin before shedding his jacket and casually settling onto the couch. 

“No, please, make yourself at home,” Sophie remarked, watching him snuggle further into the sofa. “Want anything? A drink? A sandwich?”

“Bourbon, if you have it. Or gin. Or Vodka. Or-”

“I’ll just close my eyes and grab something, yea?”

“It’s like you’re in my mind,” Melvin smiled as he watched Sophie walk over to her cart of bottles to retrieve the flavor of the night.

He tapped the seat next to him for Sophie to join. When she did, he put his arm around her before continuing. “So, tell me how you screwed it up with Kate Kane  _ this time _ .”

"That's not why you're here," Sophie denied quickly.

Melvin pulled away for a moment, looking properly at Sophie. Her eyes were slightly red, and there was a strained sadness about her.

"Isn't it though?"

* * *

“I can’t explain it.”

Luke had immediately started briefing Kate when she arrived, filtering through the lack of camera footage and trying to nail down how the heist occurred. No explosions were used, there were no injuries, and the CCTV footage had been cut before the raid. No witnesses could corroborate anything out of the ordinary, either. It was almost like someone had been escorted into the facility and gifted the technology. 

Kate was straining to understand who would even know about the armour in the first place.

“Has Tommy been released?” Kate inquired thinking back to Bruce’s old friend. Tommy Elliot had been responsible for a previous break-in of Wayne Tech having stolen the rail gun designed to penetrate the Bat suit.

"I had the same thought, but he's still at Arkham."

Kate stood and walked to the windows looking out over the city’s glow. “Unless he’s partnered with someone new,” she pondered aloud. "The timing of this is almost too perfect.”

"I had the same thought. To execute a break-in on the one night when all of Gotham's top leaders in security are in a room celebrating themselves-"

"- someone breaks into one of the most secure spaces in the entire city."

“Does GCPD know?”

“Not yet. I only knew because our sensors were set off.”

“Good. We need to keep this under wraps because the sooner they find out, the sooner it gets leaked. Everyone knows the Gotham Police is crawling with cops looking to make a buck off this kind of a leak.” 

“What about the Crows?”

Kate shook her head, “The less they know the better, too. There have been too many unanswered leaks from them. We still don't have a shred of evidence against Cobblepot, and I don't trust anyone until we know how the Dent tip wasn't flagged. But I’m less worried about them because they have no reason to come sniffing.”

“Right… except they’re signed on to survey Wayne Tech.”

Kate’s reaction sobered, “What do you mean they’re signed on? Since when?”

“The board voted to hire them following Tommy’s break in. They’ve got surveillance access to everything,” Luke paused, pondering the situation.

"I know every account on file - Wayne Enterprise isn't on the list," Kate challenged as she scanned her memory.

"That's because Wayne Enterprise doesn't exist as Wayne Enterprise for outsourcing services. It goes by Martha's Bakery."

"Why didn't you tell me this earlier?" Kate asked, feeling blindsided. "With everything going on, you're telling me the Crows have had unlimited access to Wayne Tech's surveillance system?"

"It didn't seem relevant," Luke reasoned in apology.

"Well it is now," Kate shot back angrily.

Luke waited a moment to respond. Months earlier he would have argued back, but after working so closely together, he knew better than to swipe back. He watched her frustration shrivel into a sigh. 

"I'm sorry," Kate said finally. "Do you know if the Crows realized there was a break in? Do they have the same level of access as we do? You said something about sensors, right?"

"That's where I think we have a lead. Bruce was very strategic about how he built out infrastructure around Wayne Tech. He and my dad knew they couldn't trust everyone from within the company, so they built in redundancy that synced only to the batcave."

"Smart, but how is that a lead?"

"Because it means that whoever did this knew about the basic security well enough to fool it."

"So you think it was from within Wayne Enterprise?"

"I think it was from within the Crows, Kate."

"Well, now it's extra relevant," Kate joked.

“Kate… this technology in the wrong hands-"

"I know," Kate interrupted. She couldn't let herself imagine the consequences of the armour being handed to Gotham's worst just yet.

* * *

“I can’t believe after five years I’m sitting on Sophie Moore’s couch.”

“It is a bit weird.”

“You just disappeared after graduation,” Melvin continued. 

“I know.”

“I wish things had ended differently. I remember calling up Kate right before graduation - she was off on the west coast somewhere. Or maybe she went later that summer… In any case, she warned me you’d up and leave, but I didn’t believe her.”

“I’ve stopped trying to act like Kate doesn’t know exactly what I’ll do anymore.”

“It was on that same call she gave me your new number.”

“How? I wouldn’t have gotten it for another few days,” Sophie asked, genuinely surprised. One Crow requirement as a new recruit was to surrender old phone numbers for company sanctioned cell phones. It was less than 48 hours after graduation that she’d cut off her old number.

“She knew her dad was going to offer you the job. I thought about calling, but I was still so angry.”

“I know. I didn’t… I don’t know. I still think about it all the time.”

"I wish I was a bit more mature and had just reached out.”

"I could have called, too. I do wish you had reached out about Monica though. I knew she was in Gotham, but had I known she fell out of remission-"

"Don't give it another thought. She's good now."

"If she ever needs anything though -"

"Sophie," Melvin interrupted with a small smile. "I'll make sure she has your number. I'm sure she'd love to catch up. You should know she's Team Moane though."

"What?"

"Don't worry, Kate's been taking the brunt of it."

Sophie's confusion shifted to a groan as Melvin's words registered. "Enough."

"Clever, right? Takes me back to the days of hollow doors and-"

"Kate's seen Monica?" Sophie interrupted, registering Melvin's earlier remark.

"I think they grab drinks once every few weeks since she got back. I think Mon still feels a bit guilty about the money," he remarked casually.

"The money?"

"For her treatment," Melvin said, watching Sophie's face contort into confusion again. "Kate never told you?"

Sophie shook her head. 

"Kate's paid for all of Monica's treatment - ever since she was diagnosed."

* * *

“You smell like booze, by the way,” Luke remarked.

“Sorry. Ran into an old friend.”

“Oh? She an ex?”

“ _ He _ and I went to school together.”

“Should I be jealous?”

“No, he’s SSR.”

“Oh, does he know Julia?”

“Actually, yea. They have a sort of… working relationship, you might say.”

“Is this your way of saying they dated?”

Kate chuckled. “Not exactly. She’s not really his type.”

“Female?”

“No, no… I just mean, they don’t exactly see eye-to-eye most of the time.”

“Impossible. Julia gets along with everyone.”

“Well…”

“Except this one tool. Apparently they were on a job together, he almost got her killed, then he got shot. Ever since then Julia won’t work with Americans…”

Kate watched Luke trail off in thought, waiting for the pieces to come together.

“Wait…”

“Yea.”

“This guy?”

“Probably.”

“I don’t know if I’m even surprised by this.”

“I’ve found it best not to be surprised about anything anymore.”

* * *

“Hey, I can’t really defend this Renee chick. She seems nice, but what are you really doing? Is it serious? Is it a fling? Are you just trying to make Kate jealous?”

“When it started… I don’t know, it was just something different. With Tyler-”

“Oh! Don’t even get me started on this Tyler guy. You married a man?” Melvin accused suddenly. Over the course of the evening and between Kate and Sophie, he had found out more about the last five years of Sophie’s life than he could have imagined. “You know you’re not straight, right?”

Sophie smirked, “Yes, Melvin. I know.”

“Look, you know me. I’ve always been Team Moane,” Melvin said before breaking out into a fit of laughter.

“It’s like I never left,” Sophie said, staring up at the ceiling in resignation.

“So obviously I’m biased. But you two need to figure your shit out.”

“There’s nothing to be figured out. We’re just headed in different directions.”

“Oh, come on,  _ babe _ ,” he continued teasing. 

“Ok, enough.”

“I had no idea it had grown on you. I’ll take credit for it,” Melvin added, resulting in a pillow to the face.

“It was a compromise.”

“A compromise? What was it going to be? Honey bee? Sugar plum? Sweet pea?”

"Something like that," Sophie said, unphased by Melvin's poking. The truth was that she'd never told Renee she didn't like the name, and she was beginning to see this habit of remaining silent crop up everywhere she went.

The two fell into a silence. They'd been chatting for the last two hours, unmoved from the couch. It had been years since they'd talked, and it surprised Sophie how much had changed but also how much of Melvin had stayed the same.

"I'm glad you stopped by," Sophie said with a soft smile as she reflected on their conversation. 

"Me too."

* * *

"Tommy has consistently made calls out of Arkham to two numbers: one assigned to Johnny Sabatino and one unknown."

"What's their relationship?" Kate asked through bloodshot eyes. They had transitioned from the batcave to Bruce's office and then finally back to the loft where they had used Sophie's login credentials to gain access to Arkham’s records. The sun was breaking along the horizon, as they sat around the table, huddled over their computers.

"He manages Tommy's club."

"Why would that matter?"

"Johnny Sabatino doesn't exactly have a clean record. Two counts of grand larceny: one in 2015 and again in 2019."

"Why isn't he in jail?"

Luke looked up from the screen at Kate, unamused by the question.

"Gotham, right," she waved off. "Can we track the unknown number?"

"Doubt it. If Tommy was up to something I'm sure whoever he was working with would use a burner."

* * *

Sophie bolted up, bleary-eyed in confusion. A pounding had woken her up, and she was barely registering the daylight pouring into the apartment. She shuffled toward the door, and paused briefly before opening it to reveal Renee standing behind it. 

“Renee?”

“Woa, you look like hell,” Renee remarked in surprise.

“Er… sorry?” Sophie replied, her cheeks flush with embarrassment at the contrast with Renee’s put-togetherness after the night before.

“Look, I like you, and I want to keep doing this,” Renee said simply.

“Ok,” Sophie said cautiously.

“But I have conditions.”

“Do you want to come in?”

“No, we can do this here,” Renee said, her manner professional and without the lighthearted humor Sophie had come to know.

“O-ok…”

“No more secrets.”

“Easy. Consider it done,” Sophie responded quickly. “I’ll tell you anyth-”

“I’m not finished,” Renee continued, cutting Sophie off. “The only time you mention Kate is in a work context or to answer a question I have.”

Sophie stared back at Renee, caught off guard by the request. “Uhm-”

“And my last condition: you never speak to Kate Kane outside of work context again. That should be easy since her dad will likely be reinstated as board member at the monthly board meeting next week.”


	18. Chapter 18

"So what'd you say?"

Sophie jumped at the voice behind her, forgetting Melvin was there. He was standing in the threshold of the kitchen, arms crossed and head cocked to one side in curiosity with an empty coffee mug hanging loosely from his hand.

"I - I, uh… I said I needed to think," Sophie admitted, already regretting her decision.

"Too bad," Melvin remarked, turning back into the kitchen. 

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked, following closely behind.

"Can you explain to me how this fancy ass machine makes coffee?"

"Melvin, what did you mean by that?"

“It’s such a simple thing, you know?”

"Melvin-"

"-and yet there are so many options; I have never been so confused-"

"Would you please-"

"-by how much this thing does all of these other things -”

" _ Melvin _ ."

“- but doesn’t do the most obvious thing; the thing you expect it to."

“Just press the green button.”

"You get I'm speaking in metaphor, right?" Melvin grinned, looking up from the hissing coffee maker.

* * *

“Anything?”

“Nothing new to report.”

Kate sighed in frustration.

“Kate, you need to slow down. I’m exhausted, and I’m not even the one jumping around on rooftops,” Luke said, eyeing Kate who had just returned from the night’s patrol. They had spent the last three days chasing theories for who could have stolen the batsuit technology from Wayne Tech, and their leads were running out.

“We need to get ahead of this,” Kate shot back in tired annoyance. She knew Luke was right; she’d had a near miss that evening with one of Maroni’s cronies. She rubbed the side of her healing ribs at the fresh memory and knew her slow reaction was from lack of rest. But she also knew that everyday they didn’t find the batsuit culprit, the likelier it would become a bigger problem. Since Saturday, there had been no report from the Crows of a break-in, which reinforced their belief that it was an inside job. What wasn’t clear was the connection: who had executed the break-in, and what were their motives?

“Sophie called again,” Luke called after Kate as she went to change out of the suit. He sat in his anticipation for the handful of minutes it took for Kate to reappear. “Did you hear me?”

“Yea, Sophie, got it.”

“You gonna call her back?”

“I- I’ll… yea, I’ll get to it,” Kate waved off, her temper shortened by the want of sleep.

Luke stared at her curiously.

“Obviously I’m not doing it this second; it’s three in the morning,” Kate reasoned. “Are her credentials still working?”

“Oh! I forgot to check,” Luke said, bolting from his chair. They had fallen into a habit of checking Arkham’s database for release files to track Butler’s activity. “I think we need to juggle less, Kate.”

“Well maybe if we ever solved anything…”

“Just saying. With Cobblepot, Butler, Mouse, Wayne Tech, insurance fraud,  _ Tommy _ ,” 

“Tommy?”

“Tommy was released from Arkham last night,” Luke said excitedly, from his screen. “We should-”

“I’ll pay him a visit.”

* * *

Sophie glanced at her phone again, willing it to ring. She picked it up, scrolling to recent messages. She stared at the ‘unread’ message she’d sent to Kate earlier that morning. It had been four days since she’d talked to Renee, and in that time, Sophie had been unable to get in touch with Kate. 

While Kate wasn’t always prompt about getting into the office, she’d not been in at all that week. It was unlike her not to show up, and definitely unusual for her not to respond. She’d called Luke the night before who assured her Kate was fine if only preoccupied with all the construction activity at the new buildings, but that didn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. They’d all but suspended their investigation into Cobblepot and the suspicious events encircling the Dent case, and with the looming board meeting coming up, Sophie worried nothing would come of it once Jake was back in the saddle as Lead Crow.

Now that the audit was over, it was also anticipated that Kate would step down at the upcoming board meeting, meaning her window of time to talk to Kate was narrowing. Cobblepot aside, Sophie had restlessly laid awake the last few nights weighing Renee’s words. Her initial reaction to Renee’s ultimatum had been to reject it: how could someone ask her to cut ties with one of the most important people in her life? But the more she thought about it, she realized that whether it was Renee or not, if she ever wanted to move on from Kate, she needed the space. She couldn’t see or talk to Kate everyday and be reminded how much she had loved her while balancing another relationship. 

It was an unexpected demand, and yet Sophie understood the logic. But before she could respond to Renee, she needed to talk to Kate first. She needed to know where Kate stood. Sophie had asked for a week, and her time was running short to get answers. If there was a chance… if Kate was feeling the same feelings she was… Without giving it another thought, she pressed the call button and brought the phone up to her ear. She counted the rings as her brain flustered with nerves.

“Hello?”

“Kate, hey, h-”

"Hey Soph, sorry I haven't called back; things have been - it’s been a bit hectic."

"Oh, no,” Sophie said quickly, hearing Luke’s words from the night before echo in her mind. “It's fine - totally get it.”

“Thanks.”

“Do you have a minute now to chat?"

"Actually I'm just about to walk into a-"

"Candy Kane!" came a voice cutting off Kate’s words over the phone.

"Kate?” Sophie asked, hearing the familiar nickname. “Are y-"

"I gotta run. I'll call you later?" Kate said before ending the call. 

Sophie stared at her phone, stunned.  _ Candy Kane _ ? The nickname brought up a slew of memories: she had first heard the dreaded nickname on her first visit to Gotham with Kate. They’d spent the day at Wayne Tower with Bruce and were getting ready to head out to a friend of Kate’s when she’d heard the name called out in the same, excited, teasing tone.

She felt the blood drain from her face as the memory pieced together. She turned to her computer, navigating the files to confirm her suspicions: Tommy Elliot was out of Arkham.

* * *

Kate glared in annoyed surprise. She hadn't expected a greeting at the elevator, and it was all the more frustrating to see the malicious grin plastered on the face at the end of the hall.

"When they called up to tell me Christmas came early, I almost didn't believe them, but here you are."

Kate walked toward Tommy who was leaning casually against the doorframe to his office.

"I wanted to be the first to welcome you back. When I heard the news-"

"Oh, enough of the niceties, KK," Tommy replied with a scowl in his brow and a smirk still playing across his lips. "That's from a time when saving face was filled with dramatic flare no one believed. We're different - we grew up with the internet." 

He turned and entered his office as Kate followed. The space was the definition of overcompensating: it was lush with a double-height ceiling and lined with mahogany bookshelves stacked to the top with what could only be first editions. Plush sofas and armchairs surrounded an ornate fireplace, and in the middle of it all was an oversized office desk.

"So, how can I help you, Candy Kane?" Tommy grinned, his eyes flickering with mischief as he leaned against the polished edge of his desk.

"You can start by telling me how you managed a roundtrip ticket out of Arkham. Your fate was sealed months ago and yet here you are."

Tommy let out a hollow laugh. “I thought you’d be more excited to see me.”

“And I thought we'd moved past niceties.”

"I don’t suppose your recent dabbling in real estate has anything to do with this little visit. Afraid of the competition? Don’t worry Kitty Kane, we’re in different leagues. But I'll give you some advice; on the house," Tommy continued, his grin uncontainable. "The first rule of real estate is that  _ everything  _ is negotiable."

"And here I assumed it was 'location, location, location.'"

"That works if you're a follower. If you want to be successful, you must  _ lead _ . A leader negotiates the location into existence. A leader takes a slum and turns it into a multi-million dollar penthouse. Followers will flock, but by then the area has been marked and the rate of return has plummeted."

"Some call that gentrification."

"I call it winning."

"That’s a fairly singular view.”

“Tell that to my many bank accounts.”

“So is that how you did it? You paid someone off to let you out early?”

“Why would you do that?”

“What?”

“Here I am, offering my wisdom to you, and you go and change the subject.”

“Wisdom?” Kate mocked back.

“Kate,” Tommy said with the tone of a pretentious professor. “Have I ever told you about how I made my first million?”

“You had rich parents who died prematurely?” Kate shot back.

Tommy scowled in disapproval before pushing off his desk and stepping toward the glass skin that separated him from the city beyond.

“I convinced an old man to sign over a plot of land to me. It was just north of here - if you squint you can almost see it behind the cheap construction that's since been built.”

“So you swindled your way into money.”

“ _ Hush _ , Kate. It’s story time with Tommy, and I do  _ not _ like being interrupted,” Tommy interjected, glancing briefly at Kate before returning his attention to the skyline. “He was already wealthy and didn’t know it; there were millions in untapped potential on that site. The only problem was getting access to it.”

“How do you mean?”

“It had this decrepit old historic building perched on the back edge of the lot. In an earlier time it would have been considered a mansion, but it had over three decades of degradation on it before I ever gave it a second glance.”

“So what, you fixed it up?”

“No, it was in shambles, but it had a pretty insurance pay out when it mysteriously blew up. Gas leak, if you'll believe it,” Tommy replied simply, a grin spreading across his lips. 

"You'll forgive me if I don't."

“Always the cynic. Even when we were kids," Tommy said, waving a dismissive hand. "But I always had a feeling about that place. I had stopped by one afternoon about a week before the dreadful explosion, and do you know what I suggested to the old man?”

Kate shrugged her shoulders in feigned indifference as she watched Tommy continue.

“I told him to find new housing.”

“He lived there?” Kate asked, her eyes widened 

“Your use of past tense is well-placed: he  _ lived _ .”

“You killed him?” Kate asked, cutting through the smoke and mirrors of Tommy's gas leak excuse.

Tommy chuckled at Kate’s shock. “Oh, don’t be silly. You think I’d sit here and confess murder to you? Of course not: he died shortly after of a heart attack, but that left me with a fortune in empty, undeveloped land.”

“I didn’t really come here to listen to your old glory days, Tommy.”

“Yes, Kate. You came to find out how I got out of Arkham, but I think we both know you already have that answer, don’t we?”

Kate scowled at Tommy, trying to read his expression.

“Are you  _ really _ going to make me say it?”

“I think we both know you’d enjoy the monologue,” Kate retorted.

“Oh, but humor me. Ask a question first. I need a good prompt."

Kate sighed in annoyance. She wasn’t interested in playing games, and she could easily walk out of the office without entertaining another minute of Tommy’s conversation, but she needed a confirmed lead.

“Wayne Tech.”

“That doesn’t sound like a question, Candy Kane,” Tommy toyed back.

“How did you get out of Arkham?”

“The boring one,” he sighed. “Of course. I liked where you were headed before.”

“Tommy-”

“Fine, fine. You got me. I bought my way out, but not with money. Money is fine when you have it, but my assets have been tied up since well…”

“Since you had your ass handed to you by a woman in a wig?”

“One could argue the odds were in her favor. I had one Wayne Tech device and she had an arsenal. But I digress - it’s all in the past, and I’m turning over a new leaf.”

“You'll forgive if I don’t hold my breath.”

“Oh, no, Kate, it’s true! Arkham helped me see much about myself and my ways. How selfish I had become: it corrupted my mind. It’s why I ended up there. My greedy, selfish desire to kill Batman drove me to do those things.”

“And now?”

“Now? Now I’m a man of the people. I was offered a deal I couldn’t refuse: the chance to be liberated and now that I have tasted it, so shall I bring liberation to others.”

Tommy paused, glancing at Kate for her to bate him on. After a moment of silence he sighed in mock disappointment before continuing. “I was assigned one of the brightest minds in Arkham: Dr. Randolph Butler. He takes a very nuanced approach with all of his patients. For some he uses drugs, for others he talks, and for his most special, he negotiates.”

“Meaning? You’ve been waxing poetic ever since I got here. Either tell m-”

“Oh Kate, you always did take the fun out of things. It's so good to see you playing adult though. Bruce must be very proud to have such an obedient bitch like you around."

“Are you trying to make a dog joke? You’re trying to say I’m Bruce’s dog?”

Tommy sighed in annoyance at Kate’s unwillingness to play along.

“Kate, if you ever want to make it in this business, you have to learn a little give and take.”

Kate stared back, unmoved by Tommy’s remark. In turn, he gave Kate a sly leer before giving into his own desires to narrate.

“The real art in business is learning what people want and finding a way to give it to them at an inflated rate. For Dr. Butler, it was easy: I was able to call in one favor to get my sentence reduced.”

“What did Butler want?”

“He wanted to know that I could do it.”

“What are you saying?”

“It was one of our first sessions. He asked me ‘Tommy dear boy, tell me, if you could do one thing to prove your superiority, what would it be?’” Tommy paused, letting the words hang in the air for a moment before continuing, “And of course the easy answer would have been ‘to kill the Batman,’ but I let his words dance around in my brain, and it took me another two weeks to give him an answer.”

“And that was…?”

“To pluck the symbol of the bat from the sky,” Tommy grinned.

“So why didn’t you just take an axe to the bat signal?” Kate replied lamely.

“Kate, must you always be so dim? Destroying a physical object is one thing, but I wanted so much more. Batman exists to Gotham as a god; he reigns as an untouchable. I wanted to strip that strength away from him. I wanted to see him return to his mortal form for the people of Gotham to see him for what he truly is: a man of normal flesh and blood.”

“Fine, ok,” Kate said, playing along. “Except Batman disappeared three years ago.”

Tommy rolled his eyes in annoyance. “Honestly, Candy Kane, if not for our history I’d kick you out. You’ve missed the point! I said the  _ symbol  _ of the bat. Bruce may not be here, but his protégé reigns over the night.”

“So your objective is chaos?”

“No, no; chaos is for the Joker. I simply want to see the return to normalcy where one man doesn’t stand above the rest.”

“Unless it’s you.”

A grin flickered across Tommy’s face, “Now you’re getting it. Bruce has stood above everyone else for too long. Now it is my turn.”

“And to do that…”

“I needed to make the Bat family mortal again. To mortalize them.”

“How?” Kate asked, struggling to understand how his stealing the batsuit played into his narrative.

Tommy sighed lazily. “This is the boring part, if only because it was so easy. I returned to Dr. Butler with my answer. He was impressed with it; he isn’t like boring doctors - he understood the significance of it,” Tommy said, getting lost in the memory of the conversation. After a moment of silence he broke his stare and continued. “He told me to do it.”

“He told you to destroy Batman?” Kate said in disbelief.

“I thought it was a joke, too, but he assured me that in fulfilling my deepest desire, I would cure myself from the narrow-minded, self-debilitating life I had created. If successful, I would go free. I don’t think he expected me to succeed. I thought he was simply baiting me into getting caught and extending my sentence at first. After sitting on it for another few weeks, I began to realize I wasn’t constrained by the walls of Arkham. I could still get things done, and I knew if I stayed at Arkham any longer I might actually become crazy. So I gambled and made a call.”

“To who? Johnny Sabatino?” Kate asked. It was an intentional slip, and she hoped it would lead Tommy to divulge more than the aimless bravado he’d been giving.

“Looks like someone did her homework,” Tommy said, a glimmer of amusement in his eyes. “But no, I needed someone with real connections - connections that would get me the top-level security access to Batman’s invincibility.”

Kate watched Tommy with mounting frustration. He was dancing around what she already knew, and he knew it.

"Who did you call?"

"We both know I'm not telling you that, but I do hear you two are actually quite chummy these days. It's interesting what people keep hidden in plain sight. Remind me, you returned to Gotham how long ago? It was all quite curious timing with-"

“And this person, she gave you the access you needed? No questions asked?” Kate asked, brushing past Tommy’s insinuations. She wasn’t ignorant that Tommy might have his own suspicions about her, but that was a small fish compared to the looming threat of the batsuit residing in the wrong hands.

“She? Always the feminist,” Tommy remarked, letting Kate’s digression play out. “Let’s just say our agendas aligned.”

“You both hate Batman?”

“We both hate the current system. It’s time for a change, and together we are uniquely qualified to put the machine in motion.”

Kate had more questions than she knew would remain unanswered, and who Tommy had called would remain one of those mysteries for now.

"So, how did it happen?"

"How should I know?"

Kate balked. How could Tommy not know?

“Oh Candy Kane, you must see your face. You thought you’d just stroll in and get all the answers? Where is the challenge in that? I’ve learned my lessons: the less  _ I _ know, the better my chances of keeping these hands clean,” he said, waving his fingers about for added emphasis.

“All right, so you proved you could do it.”

“I did.”

“And you got your freedom.”

“Precisely.”

“So now give it back.”

Tommy laughed unrestrained. The high-pitch of it rang through the space, and Kate felt her annoyance flare.

“Oh Kate, always so naive. I don’t have it. And even if I did, I wouldn’t just hand it back.”

“What do you mean?” Kate asked, feeling the color drain from her face. She hadn’t expected Tommy to just give it back, but she also hadn’t expected him to part with it.

“I’ve already sold it. Twenty million deposited yesterday. Frozen assets or not, I’m a millionaire again.”

“By who?”

“Well if I just told you that’d take all the fun out of i-”

“ _ Tommy _ ,” Kate interrupted, her temper getting the better of her. If Tommy was serious, this was suddenly a very different kind of problem. She could handle Tommy, but if this was in the hands of someone else, it complicated the matter.

Tommy glanced at Kate, eyeing her with renewed curiosity. 

“Tell me, Kate. What is this to you? Wayne Enterprise determined you were the most qualified to come interrogate me?” Tommy asked before clicking his tongue knowingly. “I don’t think so.”

“You’re going to get people hurt.”

Tommy’s grin returned. “Well that's quite perverse. And how would I be doing that? I’m giving people  _ protection _ .”

“For twenty million? You’re giving protection to the wrong people, Tommy.”

“Who are you to decide right people and wrong people, good and bad? You’re no better than Bruce.”

“If that’s supposed to be an insult…”

“Only time will tell who is right and who is wrong, Candy Kane,” Tommy said, ignoring Kate’s remark.

"And until then, you've accomplished what, exactly? You're free but Batwoman is no weaker than before. Batman could return and he'd be just as protected in his own suit."

"But what do you think they'll do when all the baddies start sporting their bat gear, hm? They aren't the only ones fighting crime. The GCPD will be bringing a knife to a gun fight.”

Kate stared at Tommy, registering his words. The pieces all started falling into place: Tommy had selected the one thing that kept Batman, and Batwoman by association, protected from the bullets and knives that they fought against. It’s what kept them ‘immortal’. By stealing the batsuit and handing it over to an unknown buyer, they risked allowing that same protection to a slew of baddies. Maybe Batwoman could fight that off, but there was a lingering truth she couldn’t shake: if this was effectively produced and distributed, the upper hand would be theirs. Even though she could continue moving about the night in protection, the GCPD and Crows would be fighting a losing war. 

“Unless, of course…" Tommy mused. "There was something that could penetrate the armor."

"The rail gun," she admitted.

Tommy's laugh echoed again unrestrained off the walls.

"You see? I don't need to kill the Batman. He will do it himself."

* * *

“You’re late,” Luke said without looking up from his computer. 

“Not my fault,” Kate muttered. She had just returned to the flat with a duffle bag in tow. They had agreed she’d be back before midnight to relieve Luke from babysitting the flat and ensure they both got a full night’s rest for the first time in days, but a mugger had other plans. 

“And make sure you hang that up; last time you -”

“I’ll hang it up,” Kate interrupted crossing the space to a makeshift closet. She opened the door and slipped in. A scraping sound could be heard through the space as another panel beyond opened. Kate proceeded to unzip the duffle bag and hang up the batsuit.

“Is that mud?”

“Dry cleaners were closed,” Kate remarked casually. She glanced back at Luke with an amused grin, but his no nonsense face interrupted her fun. “I’ll clean it tomorrow, I promise.”

Luke nodded in approval before returning his gaze to the screen.

“Food?” Kate asked hopefully.

“Fridge.”

“It came!” Kate exclaimed, her eyes lighting up at the silver box that had appeared. She opened the door relishing the cool air that hit her face. “See? It’s gonna be a regular home in no time.”

“The construction is becoming a real problem though.”

“A minor hiccup. They’ll be done in a few weeks,” Kate called from the depths of the fridge. She reappeared with an armful of fixings as she proceeded to make herself a sandwich.

“What are you working on?”

“Contracts.”

“You’re the best, you know?” Kate said through a mouthful of pickle.

“Also, Sophie stopped by. I thought you were going to call her.”

“I was. But then she called me first.”

“When?”

“This morning.”

“Well she came by tonight.”

“I couldn’t chat. I was walking into Tommy’s. Did she say what she needed?”

Luke shook his head. “No, but she looked stressed.”

“That’s just been a permanent feature of her face since Point Rock,” Kate joked. Luke glanced up, unamused. “It’s fine. I’ll call her,” she replied before glancing at the time, “tomorrow. I’ll call her tomorrow.”

“That’s what you said last night.”

“Tommy took priority,” Kate dismissed quickly. “Do we have chips?”

“Second shelf on the l-”

“Aha! Found’em.”

“Aren’t you worried?”

“Hm?”

“Sophie. Aren’t you a bit worried? You’re being a bit… casual about this.”

“Luke, if it was something real, she’d have left a message,” Kate reasoned. The truth was that she’d been avoiding calling Sophie back. It concerned her that in all the messages and missed calls that Sophie wasn’t being explicit. In Kate’s experience, Sophie only ever avoided naming a reason when she wanted to talk about their relationship, and that wasn’t a path Kate was eager to walk down.

“Kate.”

“What?”

“Your phone is ringing.”

A shot of fear struck her as she glanced down at the screen and felt a wave of relief at the name glowing back.

“Hey Melvi-”

“Call Sophie.”

“I-I was, I mean, I’m going to,” she replied, surprised by the interruption.

“No, you’re avoiding. Call her.”

Kate sighed, annoyed that her two closest allies were both pressing her about this.

“I will.”

“And don’t make me call about it again - we aren’t in school anymore,” he said.

“I won’t.”

“Good.”

“Was that it?”

“No. What are you doing this weekend? I hear there’s this parade thing Saturday.”

“You want to go to the Gotham City parade?”

“Yea, I mean, mostly I wanted to see you before I ship out again.”

“You’re leaving? I thought you had some time,” Kate replied, her disappointment clear.

“Duty calls.”

“Shit. I can’t Saturday. How about Sunday?”

“No can do - flying out then.”

“Friday then.”

“Deal. I’ll text you for the deets.”

“Perfect.”

“And don’t forget to call So-”

“I know, I know. I’ll call.”

“Who was that?” Luke asked, observing Kate over the top of his screen.

“Melvin,” Kate said absentmindedly, already lost in thought again. Melvin was leaving, and he knew Sophie was trying to reach her. That meant it was definitely about their relationship.

“Point Rock guy?”

“Yea.”

“Calling about Sophie?” 

“Would you just-”

“It’s about you two, right? That’s why she wants to talk?”

Kate sighed in growing frustration.

“What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know, Luke. I just… I don’t know,” she answered honestly, staring down at the plate of food and realizing her appetite was gone.

“You said Tommy might…”

“Yea.”

"...shit, Kate. I’m sor-"

“Don’t,” Kate sighed. “Please just… don’t apologize.”

* * *

Kate stared at her phone, a nervousness washing over her. Luke had left minutes earlier, and Kate found her fingers messaging Sophie:  _ you awake? _ She spent the next two minutes staring at the screen hoping Sophie was already asleep and the message would be lost until morning. Instead, it shifted from ‘unread’ to ‘read’, and a sinking feeling filled her as an incoming call flooded the screen.

“Hey.”

“Hi,” came Sophie’s voice over the phone. “You’re up late.”

“I should say the same to you.”

“I’m getting stuff ready for the hand-off with Jacob,” she replied, alluding to the upcoming board meeting.

“Right, of course.”

“You’re hard to track down these days.”

“Yea, sorry about that. I may have bitten off more than I can chew; three buildings was a bit overambitious.”

“Yea, I can imagine,” Sophie said, her mind obviously elsewhere.

A silence hung in the air, and Kate found herself fighting to stop her next words:

“Uh, Luke said you stopped by. Said you wanted to talk about something?”

“Oh, right, yea,” Sophie feigned as though also remembering the event.

Kate could hear the hesitation in the silence that followed.

“S-so, is now a good time or-”

“Renee found out,” Sophie interrupted, “about us.”

“Oh,” Kate replied in genuine surprise. “How’d that go?”

“Uhm, not so great; it was Saturday night after… It doesn't really matter when. But we fought, and she left.”

“I’m sorry, Soph,” Kate said, realizing the reason for her message to Melvin that night.

“It’s… she came back - the next morning. And…”

“And, what?”

“She asked me to stop this.”

“This?”

“Us. She… she doesn’t want to keep doing this if you’re in my life.”

“I see,” Kate said softly. Somehow the stakes of this conversation felt too great for a phone call, but the cowardly part of her was glad she could hide behind it. “So… so what did you say?”

“I said I needed to think about it.”

Kate didn’t instantly reply. Instead she felt herself spinning. Sophie didn’t say no. But she didn’t say yes. But she might say yes. Every side of Kate was reeling at this. Half of her wanted Sophie to tell Renee no; they were Kate and Sophie - no one in their right might would ask that to end. The other half of her wanted Sophie to tell Renee yes; while it was something Kate would never get over, it would once and for all solve the nagging want for Sophie as something more than a friend. Her conversation with Tommy earlier in the day was a wake-up call that too many people knew or could know her identity.

“And what have you been thinking?” Kate asked finally.

“I’ve been thinking about us - about the last few weeks and, just... everything. And, I guess I just need to know… Is there any future for us?” Sophie asked. “Because if there is, I don’t wa-”

“There isn’t.”

The words left Kate’s lips before she could stop herself, and the ringing silence on the other side of the line was enough to know they’d done the trick. With every passing second Kate saw a future with Sophie fade.

“I’m sorry, I just… that came out harsh-”

“It’s fine. I got it,” Sophie said dismissively, but Kate could hear the quiver in her voice and imagined the shimmer of tears welling in her eyes. This was the second time in as many months that Kate was knowingly hurting the only woman she’d ever truly loved, and it wasn’t getting any easier.

“Renee is great,” Kate tried, “And you two are… I think you should give it a shot.”

Her words faltered unconvincingly, and a part of Kate wanted to interrupt herself and take them back. It would be so easy to do that - to say how she really felt. But she also knew there wasn’t room in her life with Batwoman.

“Sure, yea,” Sophie said and Kate knew she was choosing words that could conceal the cracking in her voice.

“I’m glad you called though,” Kate said, feeling her own throat tighten. She realized by encouraging Sophie to see Renee, she was effectively asking Sophie to walk away from them, and it wasn’t something Kate was sure she could face again. She wiped away a stray tear from her cheek as she took a slow, deep breath. 

“Uhm, so… I mean, you just tell me what y-you decide though.”

Sophie didn’t reply, but Kate knew she was nodding on the other side of the phone.

“And uhm… yea, just - I’ll see you Friday.”

“Yep.”

“Ok. G-goodnight, Soph.”

“Mhm.”

* * *

“All right, well there is much on the agenda, so let’s get right down to it. Mr. Duncan, do we have any old business to discuss?”

“Only the Duela Dent case,” Duncan said, squinting down at his notes. “But if there are no additional comments on that…?” he paused, glancing up at the board. When no one spoke, he moved on. “Right, onto new business then. First up is a matter of the board. I have here a letter of resignation from Ms. Kane who, after today, will no longer be a member of the board. Stepping into her role will be Jacob Kane. I'm know everyone is already aware but for the purposes of the meeting minutes: Ms. Kane’s - now Mr. Kane's - position on the board is directly tied to the bylaws which state that a position on the board will always include a representative from the Kane family or by proxy.”

Sophie glanced across the room at Kate. Sophie had arrived early in hopes of catching a word with Kate, but, as usual, Kate arrived with only seconds to spare. They’d not spoken since the call, and Sophie wasn’t sure if Kate’s timely arrival was a source of relief or anxiety. The call had ended with Sophie in tears, and she cursed herself for not keeping it together long enough to say all she wanted to. Even still, part of her needed to hear Kate say the words to her face before she could close that chapter of her life. She was meant to meet Renee that night with an answer, but after nearly seven days of racking her brain, she was no closer to one.

“- which brings us to Mrs. Cobblepot’s reallocation proposal. Margaret, would you do us the honor?” Duncan said, offering the room to Cobblepot who was already standing in anticipation.

“Thank you Alan. Yes, as you all are aware, we have been making a concerted effort to review the methods of the Crows. A number of unfortunate circumstances have prompted this internal review, and while the GCPD and City did not come to any pointed conclusions, I feel it is important for us to begin adopting a new way of working. And that is why today I stand before you requesting an immediate reallocation of funds to directly put to work these strategies. 

“I have here a number of studies that reinforce and support this shift. These have been circulated over the last two weeks for board review and, pending no objections, I believe we can move forward with a vote.”

“Mrs. Cobblepot, perhaps before we get into that territory, we take a few minutes to discuss the merits of your proposal. It is quite lengthy and, while you did provide bits over the last two weeks, the lump sum of the material only came through in the last twenty four hours. It is quite a lot to digest in such a short period of time.” Duncan chimed in with practiced apology in his tone.

Cobblepot looked like ice might shoot from her eyes as she broke into a fractured smile. “But of course, Alan. Perhaps I’ll begin with the facts: Gotham City has seen a thirty-seven percent increase in crime over the last three years. Poverty is up six percent. Petty crime is rampant in the streets, and no one feels safe. The Crows were established to bring balance to the city, but it’s clear the current system is ill-equipped to do that.

“This company has three divisions: the Task Force, the Surveillance Division, and Community Outreach. Currently 85% of our annual budget is allocated to support the Task Force, ten percent to SD, and a menial five percent to CO for tax deduction purposes.”

Cobblepot gave a knowing smirk as a smattering of chuckles swept through the room at this remark.

“These allocations made sense when the company began: we were the new kids on the block trying to make our presence known, but times are changing. We can no longer sit by idly as the market shifts around us. Nearly four months ago we were awarded the largest surveillance contract this company has ever seen, and we’ve already failed at upholding our end of the deal. While we’ve been squabbling over the Task Force, a break-in occurred at Martha’s Bakery.”

“I’m sorry, Margaret, what are you talking about?” Duncan interjected, his surprise apparent as others voiced similar disbelief.

“Last weekend there was a failure in our surveillance system, and Wayne Tech was directly impacted by it.”

“And why are we only now just hearing about it? This has been known for a week and we’ve not been briefed? A break-in at a Wayne Enterprise subsidiary is not something you keep concealed,” Mila Cantor interjected. That she was speaking up made clear the unrest that had just been achieved by Cobblepot’s news.

Kate watched in surprise. Her and Luke had spent the last week tracking the internal workings of the Surveillance Division to determine whether they were aware of the break-in, but no communication had circulated suggesting any knowledge. A lack of formal paper trail went against protocol, and yet, Cobblepot knew. 

“Internal reviews have been ongoing Ms. Cantor. A formal report will be issued soon, but this only highlights my point: we are nearly a week into a break-in, and a report is still being processed. The Surveillance Division is flagrantly underfunded.

“There is growing technology that can allow us to better protect. It is my ambition that we adopt these tactics moving forward. By rebudgeting and repartnering, we can better serve Gotham and ourselves which is why I have outlined in my proposal a rebalancing: the SD immediately receives ninety percent of the annual budget, the CO is permanently disbanded, and the Task Force is downsized. In an effort to catch up, I’ve also proposed partnering with Gotham Security and it’s newly merged partner, Covert Surveillance.”

“I think in principle no one at this table disagrees with your suggestion that we address the lagging support of the Surveillance Division. Had we been briefed on this break-in a week ago, I’m sure we’d all be on better footing to discuss the merits of this proposal,” Duncan remarked, clearly perturbed by being blindsided with the information.

“The untapped market is in surveillance, and we are not up to the caliber of our competitors.  _ It’s time for a change, and together we are uniquely qualified to put the machine in motion _ .”

Kate’s eyes widened in surprise. Cobblepot’s words stoked a memory from days earlier when she stood in Tommy Elliot’s office and heard him say the exact same thing. She stared in shock as the web unraveled before her: Cobblepot was Tommy’s contact and access to Wayne Tech. It all started making sense: Margaret wanted to pivot the Crows toward a different system. By giving Tommy access to the Crows most important client, she could prove the deficiency of the surveillance system, and, in turn, give Tommy the technology he needed to upend Gotham.

She felt an uncontrollable anger build up as she realized the significance of Cobblepot’s betrayal. By attempting to advance her own agenda, she’d willingly put lives at risk including the very lives who made of the company she sat on the board for. 

“You’re wrong,” Kate said suddenly. She had stopped listening, minutes earlier, lost in her own thoughts, but the interruption did the trick. Cobblepot paused mid-sentence as every eye in the room shifted to Kate. She wasn’t sure where this was headed, but the last thing she’d accept was letting Cobblepot continue unchallenged.

“Ms. Kane?” Cobblepot asked, finally recovering from the shock.

“You’re looking to fundamentally shift the mission statement of this company.”

“Look at the landscape - at what Gotham is shifting toward. Evolution is a natural thing, Ms. Kane.”

“Except what you’re proposing is devolution. This isn’t how to produce change. You can’t surveil your way toward a crime-free city, Margaret,” Kate shot back. “You are calling out private corporations as the basis for gutting a company built around making the  _ city _ safer. Cities aren’t corporations.”

“Ms. Kane, perhaps now would be a good time to let the adults at the table talk,” Margaret said coolly, her gaze dripping with distaste. “You may think you have ideas, but you fail to grasp the core principles of invoking change: you need evidence to back it up. While you’ve spent the last few months playing adult by day and painting the town with your privileged lifestyle by night, others have been hard at work pushing for change in this city. It may surprise you to know that it takes more than showing up to a simple board meeting once every few weeks to enact that change. Perhaps if you made more use of your time reading the paper than being in it, you’d understand that.”

Margaret paused, glancing at Kate’s reddened cheeks in approval. That Kate’s tenure on the board was over and her true opinions were coming to light allowed Margaret to use all of the ammunition she’d stored for just this moment, and she was taking the opportunity to wield her control. 

“These aren’t unfounded suggestions, and I have the backing of real studies and case work that proves the integration of added surveillance reduces crime output. Ms. Kane, if you had bothered to read the studies I’ve submitted, you’d know that increased surveillance reduces overall crime by fifty one percent.”

“And if you were truly making an argument based on science and logic, you’d know cherry picking facts isn’t how you win an argument, Margaret. The fifty one percent you cite was linked only to vehicular crime in car parks when coupled with improved lighting, increased security staff, and intentional upgrades to the surrounding infrastructure,” Kate cited in response, her eyes not leaving Margaret.

The tension hung in the air as every eye on the board transitioned from Kate back to Margaret. An amused smile played across Margaret’s lips, but her eyes were piercing with hatred at Kate. She let out a soft chuckle before replying, “Yes, perhaps I’ve gotten ahead of myself. I am an optimist, and I believe fifty one percent is achievable. There are others though. Another study found a twenty-three percent reduction in crime on public transportation.”

“That study fails to accurately portray that one outlier station accounted for the 23% decrease while the other four stations observed  _ increased _ crime-”

“An example of improvement nevertheless,” Margaret shot back.

“Yes, except if you had read through to the endnotes, you’d have learned the reason for the decrease was because the station had been shut down two weeks into the twenty week study-”

“A clerical error-”

“-and three months after publication, the study was revoked for inadequate control samples and faulty data. I’m sure your inclusion of a failed study could be chalked up to the same thing: a clerical error.”

Eyes broke from the volleying and began passing nervous glances at each other. For the first time Cobblepot’s posture broke, suggesting her frustration.

“Very good Ms. Kane. So you’ve found fault in two studies-”

“Two studies you touted, unprompted,” Kate continued, her gaze intense on Cobblepot. Kate’s anger was growing, and her temper unfettered. If she couldn’t stop the batsuit technology from being stolen, she could at least do her best to damage Cobblepot’s agenda.

“Yes, and there are many more, unfaulty studies where those came from. As I was saying earlier, these are all compiled in an effort to show the significant achievements that can be made by focusing our attention on a new, more modern, singular approach to security,” Cobblepot said, attempting to shift the conversation back to the room.

“Such as?” Kate continued, unphased by Cobbplepot’s rhetoric.

“Ms. Kane, I don’t think sifting through all forty plus studies would be the best use of the board’s time.”

“So am I to understand that you’ve compiled this list of studies to have the board simply take it at face value? What better way to vet an idea than for all of us to collectively go through each case as every one of the board members surely are want to do anyway?” Kate glanced around the table. Some of the faces looked utterly uncomfortable with the proceedings while others were seething. Kate briefly made eye contact with Duncan who winked back in approval.

“The introduction of added surveillance in the North Side of Chicago reduced crime by thirty-three percent in five years-”

“And it saw a redistribution of that crime extend down to the South Side. Gotham is a collection of boroughs: simply washing one area of crime doesn’t not altogether rid the mentality for it.”

“In the last two years, an increase in videoed surveillance has produced an eleven percent drop in crime in National City-”

“Please do not tell me cctv is taking credit for Supergirl,” Kate scoffed as a chuckle broke out across the room. Cobblepot glanced in surprise as the color drained from her cheeks. “I can do this all day Margaret, but I think the point is clear: radical change cannot be achieved with a few added cameras. It is an extensive, coordinated effort to rebuild trust among the citizens of Gotham.”

“Lofty ambitions without an ounce of evidenc-”

“In 2010, Camden, New Jersey had 3,000 abandoned buildings with forty percent of it’s 77,000 residents living below the poverty line. While over 11,000 arrests were made in 2009, a $14 million budget deficit in 2010 resulted in 160 of the 400-person police force being laid off which led to a reduction in arrests of just over 9,000, yet the homicide rate between those two years increased by nearly 15% and by 2011 burglaries had increased by 65%-”

“An example of how a lack of law and order produces chaos-”

“Except in 2013, instead of reverting to the old ways of policing, they disbanded it in favor of community-based policies. It put officers in positions of facilitators and conveners rather than arbitrary deciders of what’s right and wrong. It implemented a use-of-force guidebook developed with New York University’s Policing Project, and it prioritized listening to residents over ticket quotas-”

“This is all well and good advice for the GCPD, but we aren’t here for that kind of business, Ms. Kane. Our finances are not dependent on traffic tickets.”

“You can’t have it both ways Margaret: you want the Crows to be the voice of law and order when it suits your agenda of growing surveillance, but when it comes to functioning as a broader source of order you wipe your hands of it?” Kate shot back. “No one way is best, but if we’re actually here to do any good, the company’s mission should be to go out of business because implemented policies aren’t centered around big-ticket clientele and instead focus on bringing trust back to this city.”

“And I think that mentality proves why it’s good that your tenure on this board will not extend beyond this meeting,” Cobblepot replied, her tone matter-of-fact. “And that you’re standing here minutes away from your termination telling me all of this matters very little to the direction of this company.”

Kate opened her mouth to argue but understood that in one swift moment she had lost. It was one thing to take a stance in a room of peers, but Kate had just surrendered that status, and her words now meant little. Cobblepot’s smirk was proof enough that she also recognized her victory.

“Perhaps we postpone this conversation until the next meeting. I think some homework is to be done by  _ all  _ board members before a path forward can be determined,” Duncan chimed in. The glisten of support was still in his eyes when he looked at Kate, but it had dimmed slightly by Cobbelpot’s words.

A few awkward murmurs of approval was enough for Cobblepot to see she didn’t have the support she needed to ram through her proposal, and she conceded her argument for the moment. Kate glanced down at the pad of paper in front of her in frustration, realizing she’d played the game wrong too late. Cobblepot retained control, and now it was likelier than ever before that the very thing she’d been afraid of would happen: the Task Force would be reallocated to a closet of monitors in a reactionary capacity. Somehow Tommy and Margaret had both succeeded in getting what they wanted.

“Very well, I believe that leaves only one remaining item on the agenda, and that is the topic of Lead Crow,” Duncan said, glancing down at his notes. “We faced a rather unique situation in the City’s audit, and it forced Jacob Kane to step down from his role in an untimely and unprecedented way. While the confidence of Jacob remains, the established bylaws require a certain way of reinstating him. They are as follows:

If the sitting Lead Crow has not established a history of leadership unbefitting the position, he or she may only be removed by a showing of unanimous support by the board for his or her replacement. Only then may the sitting Lead Crow’s resignation be requested.

“As Ms. Moore has done nothing to suggest otherwise, it is left to the board to request her resignation only after the successful reinstatement of Jacob. As this is meant simply as a formality, I assume there is no need to discuss?” Duncan said. He glanced around the room for a suggestion to the contrary and, after seeing none, he continued, “Jacob, Sophie, if you would please step outside while we vote,” Duncan said, nodding at Sophie and Jacob who, like the rest of the board, had remained silent during Kate and Cobblepot’s argument. 

Sophie stood, her eyes fixed on Kate whose own gaze remained focused on the dark walnut conference table. She had assumed Kate’s absence the last week was because of waning interest in the Crows, but after seeing Kate’s performance just now, Sophie was reminded of Kate’s unwavering conviction. Long forgotten memories of their late night conversations were now clear as day in her mind; Kate was fighting for diplomacy in a world that wanted to exert control through Big Brother tactics, and she came to the ring prepared.

She watched the door close to the conference room as she paused at the adjacent wall, leaning against it. Jacob too leaned against the wall.

“Agent Moore.”

“Sir.”

They’d spoken little since the beginning of the audit. To most it was seen as a way to avoid any lingering suspicion that Jacob was still secretly in control throughout the audit, but others knew their deteriorating relationship was the real cause.

“I hope you’ve kept my office in order,” he said casually, trying to break the months of tension.

“And I hope you like pink walls,” Sophie smirked as his eyes bulged slightly in surprise at the joke.

“I expect there will be a lot to catch up on.”

“I’ve already consolidated the major points. We can go through it this afternoon so you’ve got the weekend to review the rest.”

Jacob nodded appreciatively.

“It’ll be good to have you back, sir.”

“Lying never suited you, Agent Moore,” Jacob said with a grin. “But I imagine after being number one, stepping back into number two can seem like a demotion.”

“Sir?” Sophie asked, unsure she’d correctly heard Jacob’s words.

“The Task Force was in shambles without you. You’re a right pain in the ass, Moore, but I can’t think of anyone I trust more as my second in command.”

“I… thank you, sir.”

Duncan opened the door shortly after, his face stoic. It didn’t have the same jovial excitement the last time Sophie had stood outside the board room, and she sensed something was wrong. Jacob didn’t seem to notice as he took the lead, reentering the board room. When she crossed the threshold, she could practically feel the chill in the air, and the pointed stares among the table of board members made her uneasy. 

“Uhm,” Duncan began, clearly disoriented. “We have just tallied the votes, and… unanimous consent was not achieved. Ms. Moore shall remain Lead Crow for the interim period.”

Sophie barely registered the rest of the meeting. It lasted only a minute or two longer, but a haze had washed over her that made it feel like a lifetime. She could feel the anger emanating off Jacob who remained at her side for the remainder of the meeting. It was only when they had adjourned that he rose and crossed the room to Cobblepot. Sophie watched the animated exchange, unsure how to proceed, but before she could ponder that, her eyes glimpsed Kate who was trying to slip out of the room unnoticed. Sophie turned on her heel and quickly followed.

"Kate, wait," Sophie called out, grabbing Kate's arm. "Where did all of that come from?"

"What?"

"In there - just now with Cobblepot."

"It doesn't matter - it… it didn't matter," Kate replied, and for a moment Sophie could see the world of frustration and anger on Kate's face.

"It did though. You didn't see the faces on the board," Sophie said quickly. "Kate, look at me, yea? It mattered th-"

"I think we're done, right?" Kate interrupted, her temper on full display.

The interruption brought to the forefront their unfinished conversation from two night’s earlier. Sophie struggled with Kate’s insinuation that she was ok ending things between them.

"Done? Kate, I… can we talk? I don't want to-"

"Katherine.”

They both turned to see Jacob approaching them, his annoyance unmasked. “A word?”

“Sure, meet you in the lobby,” Kate replied, her tone shifting to a practiced casualness.

“Yes,” Jacob growled. His glare was intense and Sophie couldn’t recall ever seeing him this rattled. It was equally a surprise to her that he hadn’t received the votes, and she understood why he would be upset, but this level of anger felt explosive. She was tallying the votes in her head again, trying to figure the outlier. It was possible Duncan bailed - he wasn’t Jacob’s biggest fan, but perhaps the audit had made his outlook more conservative. Jacob moved to walk past them before he turned to Kate again, “And make it quick, because you have some explaining to do.”

Jacob briefly glanced back at Sophie, his rage untamed before storming off. Realization slowly dawned on her.

“Kate? Did you… did you just…?”

“He was going to gut the Task Force,” Kate said quickly, nodding towards Jacob’s receding form.

“I don’t understand. Why wou-”

“It was Cobblepot’s last demand to get the votes.”

Sophie stared in shock. Jacob was willing to fold to get Lead Crow?

“How do you know? Maybe he wa-”

“Duncan.”

“B-but… but why?”

"The rest of the board will position themselves with Margaret. Everything's going to change with him at the helm.”

"Kate…" Sophie stared at Kate, again at a loss for words. The woman standing before her had, not twenty minutes earlier, gone toe-to-toe with Margaret Cobblepot and then now, in her final act on the board, she ensured Cobblepot’s agenda couldn’t be implemented through a back alley deal with Jacob. Sophie had worried everything they’d been working toward would be swept under the rug, but after everything - even now - Kate was still fighting.

"Anyway, I need to get going," Kate said, stepping away from Sophie as the other board members began spilling out into the corridor.

"Wait-"

"You have a month, Soph."

"Kate, w-"

"I need to go deal with my dad before..." Kate said, glancing at the board members mingling in uncertainty. "Message Luke if you need anything - he's a good resource."


	19. Chapter 19

Sophie sat in her office in complete darkness. It hadn't occurred to her to turn on the lights after she returned from the board meeting, and now she found herself tangled in thought.

Kate had just sabotaged her own father's reinstatement as Lead Crow. In front of her was a mountain of paperwork and case files she collated to onboard Jacob after the meeting - to assist in reinstating him as Lead Crow. Now it pointlessly sat there in the same darkness alongside Sophie.

She saw the glow from her screen illuminate with a notification out of the corner of her eye. It was maybe the twentieth time it had gone off since she'd returned. She left them all unchecked, instead pacing through the facts of the Cobblepot evidence. If Kate's gesture was going to make a difference, Sophie knew she needed to start making progress.

After years on the task force, she had learned the best way to tackle a case was the exact opposite of how she'd managed it at Point Rock: instead of pouring over every piece of information like it was the periodic table of elements, she used the 'blue sky' approach. It was a strategy coined by Kate back in school for her own studying technique, and it took years for Sophie to admit it, but it was effective. Kate would often claim that her best ideas came when she wasn't forcing it. By leaving her mind free to wander, she didn't restrict her thoughts to the ideas in front of her. Granted, this wasn't ideal when Kate was trying to master Physics II, and it often explained the mediocre marks Kate got in anything that required diligent studying. But when it came to game theory and strategy, Kate was always the best. Within months of starting as a Crow, Sophie had quickly adopted a similar way of thinking.

She was replaying the facts when a knock on her door pulled her away from her thoughts, and she realized she had no idea how much time had elapsed since returning. The meeting had ended late afternoon, and even a conservative guess would place her well past end of day.

"It's open," Sophie called, the sound of anything feeling unfamiliar after prolonged silence. The door cracked open, and it took a second for her eyes to identify the familiar silhouette.

"Sophie?" Came Renee's voice through the dark. "Are you…?"

Sophie flipped on the desk lamp, casting a full light through the space. "Sorry. Was just… was thinking through some stuff."

"And you did it without a night light? Brave," Renee said lightly.

Sophie smiled nervously. "Less distractions."

"I see…" Renee responded, ironically distracted herself. "Uhm, so, I just wanted to stop by because… well… I just wanted to see… I guess before I ask, I wanted to explain..." she began cautiously from the doorway. "Would it be all right if I came in?"

Sophie nodded, an unspoken tension sitting between them. Sophie watched Renee walk into the dimly lit space and settle into a chair opposite her desk.

"About last week… I've been thinking, and I think I did it wrong."

"Did… did what wrong?"

"I gave you an ultimatum. I… I don't know why I did that," Renee began. "Actually, no, I mean - I know _why_ I did it, I just… I wish I had done it differently, you know?"

Sophie stared back at Renee quizzically, unsure where she was going with this.

"I didn't explain myself."

"Ok… d-do you want to now?" Sophie asked cautiously.

Renee fell silent for a moment. It was the most uncomfortable Sophie had ever seen her. Normally Renee was quick-witted and comfortable in her own skin. This Renee was anything but that. Her shoulders were hunched slightly, as though intimidated into trying to make herself smaller. Her voice was also filled with doubt and hesitation. Sophie watched this Renee build up the courage to continue:

"Two years ago, I was in this relationship… and I was head over heels in love. I'd never felt… I thought she was the one. We'd even moved in together - I'd met her family, she'd met mine; everything was... we'd been together for three years, and I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life with her."

Sophie watched Renee's eyes glisten over as she talked about it, and a strange familiarity in her words made Sophie want Renee to stop talking. They were thoughts she had also once had. Granted, the circumstances were different: Kate had met Sophie's family under the guise of friendship, but it had been perfect. Sophie had also spent over three years imagining a life with Kate, and the tone of Renee's story made her fear they had shared heartbreaks in their past.

"And then one night… I was studying late - I had my final exams at the Academy coming up, and I came home earlier than expected… Let's just say Trish wasn't alone," Renee said, the memory of that night flashing across her face. "They were in our bed: Trish and her ex. I'd met her maybe a handful of times, and she was always great - friendly even. I saw they still had chemistry, but at the time I didn't think twice about it. But that night... when I saw them together... Turns out they'd secretly been hooking up for over half of our relationship. I spent months blaming myself. I figured it was something I had done - that if I had been more loving or… just better?" Renee said, pausing to breathe away a wave of emotion.

"Renee… I-"

"What I'm trying to say but am doing a shit job of is that, you aren't my ex. I like you, Sophie, and... and I guess I got scared when I saw you and Kate together. I got scared when I realized you'd kept it a secret, and I worried it was going to be Trish all over again. That's why… I got defensive. I didn't mean to - to put you in a position where you had to choose. I don't even know anything about your relationship - you might actually hate each other for all I know. But that doesn't make what I did right. I..."

Sophie rose from her chair, walking around the desk to the chair adjacent Renee. With one hand, she grabbed a tissue off her table and with the other, she found Renee's fingers and entwined them with hers. A small smile broke across Renee's face.

"You must think I'm the most pathetic-"

"I don't. I… thank you.. for explaining. I-I get it," Sophie began. "And I'm sorry you had to go through that with Trish."

Renee sighed in frustration as she wiped away the tears freely falling over her cheeks. "I hate crying. If my brothers saw me now…they'd say I was-"

"I don't think they'd have a negative thing to say," Sophie remarked. While she hadn't met them, she guessed from Renee's stories that they were the stereotypical protective big brother types. "Unless it was about this Trish girl…"

Renee broke into a smile at this.

Sophie found herself reflecting on Renee's words. Of all the things that had crossed her mind since the board meeting, Renee's ultimatum from a week earlier hadn't been one. Three days earlier Sophie would have been hard pressed to accept her terms. Whether Kate and Sophie had a chance at a future together or not wasn't even a factor: the idea of altogether cutting Kate out of her life felt impossible. Now that she was back in Gotham, Sophie wondered how they'd gone by for years in silence.

Her conversation with Kate from two night's prior flashed through her memory. One of her biggest concerns had been the idea of Kate being in her life while she tried starting a new relationship. She worried there would always be a lingering question between them, but Kate had quickly extinguished that fantasy. The rejection had hurt more than Sophie expected - she'd spent the night in tears, and the feelings mimicked the heartbreak she felt all the years earlier at Point Rock. Out of that though came a freedom to have both Kate and Renee in her life: if Kate saw no future between them romantically, that didn't mean there couldn't be friendship. It was that silver lining that Sophie found in Renee's words: Sophie might not have to choose between the two. Renee hadn't made it explicit whether her conditions still held, but Sophie felt the pit in her stomach lighten at the possibility.

"I'm sorry," Renee said, pulling Sophie from her thoughts. "Genuinely… I-I'm sorry I said those things."

A soft smile broke across Sophie's face as she took in the pained look on Renee's face.

"I guess I only have one question," Sophie said.

"Anything," Renee replied quickly.

"Were you still interested in that drink?"

Renee closed her eyes and sighed in relief. She opened them, looking into Sophie's warm brown eyes and let a smile wander over her lips. "A drink sounds great."

* * *

"Well don't you look like the spitting image of distraction," Melvin joked, nudging Kate's arm.

"What? Did-did you just say something?" Kate said, looking guiltily back at him. They had met up only minutes earlier and were on their way to grab a bite before 'taking on the night' as Melvin put it, and Kate already found herself lost in thought.

Melvin broke into a smile as he shook his head in mock disbelief. "You know, Kate Kane, there are people out there who actually _enjoy_ my company."

"I'm sorry - I… I just came from the board meeting and…"

"And you already miss being a board member?" Melvin teased, trying to imagine Kate sitting at a table of over-aged peers whose entire purpose was to squeeze as much money out of a business as possible. It was everything Kate wasn't.

"No, no - I'm glad to be done with it…"

"But?"

"It's just frustrating to see into the minds of the people who make sweeping decisions and know nothing you can say will make a difference."

Melvin fell into an understanding silence.

"And Sophie?"

Kate glanced up, a hurt flashing in her eyes before a familiar wall was built. "What about her?"

"I see…" Melvin said, needing no further explanation.

* * *

"Where to next?" Sophie asked, the wine from dinner lightening her mood. "How about-"

about-"

"Not another word. I know a place. It's my new favorite joint."

"Oh yea?"

"Yea. They make the booziest margarita in the city _and_ they have live music every Friday."

"You had me at 'Friday'."

Renee shot a glare back at Sophie in mock annoyance before locking her arm around Sophie's. "It's also a gay bar. I think it'll do you some good to be around your people."

"My people?"

"Name three other gays you know."

Sophie gaped back, realizing she could only name one: Kate. But she still wasn't sure how taboo her name was so that left…

"None. _Exactly_."

* * *

"Does this mean I don't have to pay my tab?" Melvin joked as they navigated past the queue and entered the bar.

"Depends if you behave," Kate muttered back as she nodded at the bouncer.

"This place is popular."

"Well what did you expect? I wouldn't lead you astray," Kate remarked easily. They navigated to the bar where Kate flagged down a bartender and ordered drinks. "Thanks, Jenn."

"You know the bartenders, too?" Melvin joked as she handed him his drink. "Did you drug it?"

"Of course," Kate joked back before taking a sip.

"So," Melvin continued after taking a sip of his own. "Does this place have a VIP zone or something?"

Kate rolled her eyes before nodding her head to the right. "Follow me."

* * *

"Voila! I give you The Hold Up!" Renee announced, lifting an arm in display of the familiar storefront. "It's only been around for a few months - still under the radar."

"Oh…" Sophie said with a sinking feeling in her stomach. They had turned off the main street, and Sophie spent the last three block walk dreading that this was the bar Renee was navigating toward.

"Oh what?" Renee asked, reading Sophie's concern. "Have you been here? Do you not like this place?"

"It's… it's just that," Sophie began, "uhm, this is Kate's bar."

Renee's eyes narrowed at Sophie's comment. "Ok, babe, I'm sure Kate has a lot of bars. That's kind of her m.o. It's also one of the few gay bars in town, so I'm sure she comes her to find… well… just because she comes here doesn't make it 'her bar'," Renee reasoned.

Sophie shook her head in disagreement. "That's not what I mean. I'm saying this is _literally_ her bar: she owns it."

"You're shitting me," Renee said, her disappointment evident. Sophie could tell Renee was working through the nights she'd spent celebrating, commiserating, or just letting off some steam inside the joint. As quickly as the nostalgia brushed across her face, she binged a word salad of thoughts: "right, ok, but like… the space is great… awesome bartenders - the vibe, the music... just because she owns it, that doesn't mean we can't still go, right?"

Sophie stared back, unsure how rhetorical the question was.

"And I've never even seen her here. It's not like she works here."

"Well-"

"She doesn't, does she?" Renee asked with concern as she flipped through every rowdy Friday she'd lost to the fuzziness of alcohol.

"I mean, I don't know. I've only been a couple times, and she was working one of them?"

"But, I mean, it's _Friday_. We've all seen the papers. She's probably out at some club," Renee continued reasoning, her hesitation apparent in the way she paced in front of Sophie. "Damnit," she cursed. "I really wanted one of those margaritas… fuck it. Let's go in."

"You sure?" Sophie asked, wishing Renee had proposed the exact opposite. Even if it wasn't likely Kate was in, she felt weird about grabbing a drink there.

"Yes, besides, you need cultured."

* * *

"Next?" Melvin asked, swirling his empty glass in the air.

"Uh-uh, this one's on you," Kate chastised, watching Melvin's expectant gaze droop into puppy dog eyes. "Oh, be a gentleman for once."

"But I thought y-"

"I've gotten the last three."

Melvin sighed in disappointment before sliding away from the table while muttering under his breath.

"I heard that," Kate called as he retreated into the crowd.

* * *

"Best place is toward the back," Renee shouted over the crowd. They'd waited in a line for all of five minutes before the bouncer recognized Renee and, much to the dismay of the dozen others in front of them, ushered her and Sophie into the joint. Renee quickly navigated to the unfamiliar side of the bar where she quickly flagged down a bartender who also knew her by name. They were waiting for their drinks when a tap on Sophie's shoulder caused her to turn and look in surprise at Melvin's boyish grin.

"Melvin? This is a surprise. If I didn't know any better, I'd say-"

"That I was stalking you? Not wrong," he winked. "I'd been waiting for forever to order when your charming face caught my eye making a beeline for this side of the bar. Pro move, Moore."

"Actually Renee knew…"

Melvin glanced over Sophie's shoulder for the first time and laid his eyes on Renee ordering drinks with some surprise. "I see," he said. Sophie knew his words carried two meanings, and she felt a guilt grow. "And you're… happy with that?"

"I-I do-"

"Oh, Martin," Renee called, looking back to see the two standing together.

"It's Melvin," he corrected her pleasantly.

"Sure. What are you doing here? I figured you were straight."

"I don't think you need to be gay to get in," Sophie pointed out, trying to anticipate Renee's motivations. There was a strain in Renee's words that was clearly leftover from the week before. She glanced at Melvin who appeared cool as a cucumber. He always had a way of looking suave and comfortable in tricky situations.

"Well actually, I'm here with-"

"Melvin, what is taking so… long," came a familiar voice from behind him.

"...Kate," he finished. The group shared varying levels of shock on their faces.

"Kate," Sophie said in surprise. "I was… we were just…"

"We're here for the margaritas," Renee said casually, taking the impromptu appearance better than Sophie.

"Jenn does make a boozy one," Kate replied, matching Renee's tone with ease. "Make sure she doesn't skimp on the salt though. She's heavy-handed on the tequila but light on the rim job," she said before turning her attention away from Sophie and Renee, "Melvin, you order or did you get distracted by a woman?"

"Uh…" he stammered, clearly thrown by Kate's tone. Sophie couldn't help but note that if Melvin was thrown, something was definitely amiss.

Kate sighed, "You really are the cheapest date, and not the good kind," she said, walking away toward the bar without another word.

"Well I should… I should get back to... that," Melvin said, nodding toward Kate. "Maybe next time our run-in is intentional, and it's too much work to stalk you," he winked before walking away.

* * *

"You ok?" Melvin asked once they were back at the table.

"Why? Do I look drunk?" Kate asked sarcastically. "Because that wouldn't be good for my image."

"Oh is that right? Last I heard, that would be entirely fitting for your image."

Kate shook her head, "No, nope. It's too early for me to be sloshing about. What would that say about my reputation if I was drunk by 10pm?"

"That you were getting over someone?" Melvin asked pointedly.

"Not even beating around the bush these days are you?"

"Only because I've learned that subtlety doesn't work with you."

* * *

"Oh, hi," Renee said in surprise, her giggle from a moment earlier sobering into a straight-faced demeanor. How they'd managed a trip to the bathroom at the same time could only be chalked up to cursed fate.

"Hey," Kate replied casually.

A silence passed between them, the sound of running water echoing off the walls.

"Uhm, so… no hard feelings?" Renee said uncomfortably. "I just… I don't want… I don't know…"

"Why would there be hard feelings?" Kate asked stoically, pumping a dollop of soap into her hands.

"I just mean with… with Sophie."

Kate stared through the mirror at Renee's face, unmoved by Renee's words.

"Did… did she not tell you?"

"Does it matter?"

Renee gaped awkwardly. "I… I'm not sure. I just… I thought you two were…"

"Colleagues?"

"I guess… I guess I thought it was something more."

"It's not," Kate replied simply, grabbing a paper towel to dry her hands. She tossed it and walked toward the door. As she pulled it open to leave, she turned back. Kate's face revealed a level of emotion Renee was unfamiliar with, and it wasn't until Kate said her parting words that Renee understood it to be 'concern,' except on a level Renee couldn't quite distinguish: "Don't hurt her. She's had enough of that."

* * *

"Are you sure you don't want to come?"

Kate grinned as she shook her head. "I don't understand why you want to go so badly. It was never that good, and it has not aged well."

"Oh come on, it's my last day in town."

"They've literally been using the same, sad Bat-balloon since I was a kid. I remember the year it premiered. It was Gotham's first and last publicly-funded giant balloon."

"See? It's history. And you don't want to see it?"

"I already told you-"

"Ya, ya, Bob the Builder."

"Apparently he only delivers on Saturdays," Kate reasoned. "But next time," she teased.

"I'm holding you to that," Melvin grinned back.

* * *

"We could walk," Renee insisted, a slight slur to her words.

Sophie smirked at Renee's conviction. "You've tripped twice since we got up. I'm ordering a car."

Renee sighed at Sophie's observation before turning distractedly back toward the bar.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Mhm," Sophie said, distracted by the app.

"What happened between you and Kate?"

"Wh-what?" Sophie looked up in surprise. "Me and… why?"

"Just curious. What happened? Why'd you guys break up?"

"Uhm… I mean… you know how it is - w-we wanted different things. We just grew apart," Sophie said ambiguously, concentrating on the glow of her screen.

Renee turned to look at Sophie, her head cocked to the side as she surveyed her. "This isn't going to work if you keep lying to me."

Sophie flinched at how easily Renee could read her. She watched the spinning circle identify their ride was still eight minutes away. With a small sigh she looked up at Renee. "We got caught."

"Got… caught?" Renee asked, confused by Sophie's fragmented response.

"There was a school policy - no form of homosexuality was permitted, and three weeks before graduation… we got caught," Sophie said, reliving the memory of that fateful day in her head.

"You're shitting me. That's such an archaic policy. I can't believe that's a real thing."

"If I had a nickel for everytime time… Over three years, too; nearly made it," Sophie said, trying to ease the moment with a forced smile. She felt a discomfort and tightness in her chest that always came with reliving the memory.

"But I don't understand - what happened?"

"Can… can we do this another time?" Sophie asked, feeling a vulnerability she hadn't felt in years. She watched disappointment drift across Renee's face. "I promise I'll tell you… I just… not tonight."

Renee looked like she might push Sophie but stopped herself. After a moment she conceded with a nod of her head.

"Can you just answer me one thing though?"

Sophie hesitated before, "Yea, sure."

"Did she hurt you?" It was a question that had been on her mind for the last hour since her run-in with Kate in the bathroom. Renee watched Sophie's gaze drop.

"Honestly?"

"Honestly."

"Yes," Sophie said simply. The emotions of their final conversation came creeping in, enhanced by the alcohol running through her system. She felt a sting at the corners of her eyes as she continued, "But I hurt her more."


	20. Chapter 20

"Anything?"

"Radio silence."

A heavy sigh from Kate transmitted back to Luke at the batcave.

"Aren't you glad we're wasting a Saturday afternoon at this?" he remarked back.

"I was going to waste it here one way or another," Kate retorted, alluding to Melvin's invitation. "Besides, I'd rather be safe than sorry, and I distinctly remember telling you I could do this alone."

"And leave all this fun to you? Not a chance," Luke replied dismissively. Kate shook her head, knowing full well that even if he didn't want to be there, he wouldn't let Kate do this alone.

"How's the suit?"

"Hot. This thing can check vitals, but it doesn't have a/c?"

"Bruce didn't exactly make it a habit of working during the day. Solar radiation wasn't really a problem for him."

"Well let's put it on the improvements list."

"Sure, right below 'x-ray vision' and 'cocktail dispenser'."

"See? Batsuit 2.0 is going to be epic."

It was Luke's turn to sigh heavily, and Kate felt an unfamiliar smile creep across her lips. She scanned the growing crowds, noting that the parade would start on the northeast corner of Robinson Park and make its way to the circle before turning toward Diamond District. The route was ambitious, and the turnout was expected to be high for how few actual participants would be involved in the parade. It was the first time it would be run in years, and there was an effort to get the public involved but the generally depleted morale of the city provided lackluster results. The grand marshals were typically given to the Mayor or similarly positioned leadership position, and this year was no different. Kate was positioned in full gear at the midpoint of the first length on a nearby rooftop. She'd considered scouting the site out in civilian clothes but knew that wouldn't do anyone any good if anything happened.

"I don't see any squads," Kate remarked in reference to the familiar Crow vehicles that commonly appeared at these events.

"Squads? They're not here."

"What?"

"Or didn't you hear?"

"No…?"

"Only one day out of the job and already losing track of the Crows," Luke joked. "Although this was Tuesday news, so you don't really have an excu-"

"Luke."

"Fine, fine. They were pulled from the event."

"What?"

"Yea. The city is trying to make an effort at amplifying the GCPD in light of the Crows well… approval ratings."

"That seems…"

"Reckless?"

"To put it simply, yes."

"Couldn't agree more."

"So how many GCPD are stationed around this thing?"

"Well, there are typically four squad cars in this neighborhood on a normal Saturday so…"

"...So?" Kate asked, waiting for Luke to finish his sentence.

"So… There are four squad cars."

"Total?" Kate asked, unable to contain her surprise.

"Was that not clear? Do I need to be better at my inflection?"

"You just need to be less sarcastic."

"Says the kettle."

* * *

"I'm surprised you wanted to come," Renee said excitedly.

"Yea, well, I've never been…" Sophie said, glancing around at the growing crowd.

"Oh really? I used to come every year as a kid. When I was eight I even got to ride in one of the clown cars - turns out it was being driven by the Joker, so other than being held hostage for a week after that, it was a great experience."

"That's gre- wait, what?" Sophie asked, her surprise clear. "Did you just say the Joker? You were held hostage by the Joker?"

"I'm kidding. Just seeing if you were listening. You look distracted - everything ok?"

"Yea, yea… just…"

"This isn't really for pleasure, is it?" Renee asked, reading Sophie's true intentions.

"It just feels like-"

"Like something's going to happen? Babe, it's a bunch of over-achieving college students dressed up in furry costumes with a scraggy bunch of volunteers dragging an ancient blimp-of-a balloon down the streets of Gotham. The most questionable thing will be whether the candy they throw is considered candy, and I can answer that one no problem: ten year old salt water taffy is not real candy."

Sophie did not look relieved by these words as she weighed them against her gut which was telling her something bad was going to happen.

"Take a day off. Not everything is a job."

"Fine, ok," Sophie said, only half-giving in, but it was enough to get a grin of excitement out of Renee.

"Great, so, obviously we need food-"

"We just ate."

"Babe. This isn't any normal day. It's the Gotham City Parade," Renee practically beamed back. It was only then that Sophie realized this was a tradition Renee had probably taken part in her entire life. That it was back after years of hiatus was reason to celebrate with whatever traditions she had grown up with.

"Ok, you got it. What are we eating?"

"You save our spots. I'll be back!" she called, already backing away toward the less populated edge of the sidewalk.

* * *

"So I've been thinking about the safehouse."

"Ok…" Kate replied suspiciously. It wasn't like Luke to indulge in her nickname for the penthouse.

"What are your thoughts on 'mauve' as a color?"

"It sounds like a weird yellow."

"Wh-? No, just… it's a shade of purple - named after the mallow?"

"A purple color is named after marshmallow? That makes no sense," Kate asked in confusion.

"A… a marshmallow? No, Kate, a _mallow_. It's a type of flower," Luke sighed. "Honestly, I don't even know why I talk."

"I'll never understand how Bruce let you in his ear all those years. Were your topics of conversation this ridiculous for _his_ stakeouts."

"Well… no."

"Mauve…" Kate muttered softly as she shook her head and glanced back over the parapet.

* * *

"Sophie?" came a familiar voice from behind her. She perked up, realizing she'd heard the same voice less than a day earlier.

"Melvin -? Wh- what are you… if I didn't know any better-"

"You'd think I was the worst spy-slash-stalker on the planet?" Melvin grinned.

"Something like that," Sophie replied.

"Looks like fate just wants us together. You here alone, too?"

"Renee just dashed off for parade food."

"Interesting," Melvin replied coolly. "And what exactly is 'parade food'?"

"Haven't the slightest," Sophie admitted, suddenly happy she'd eaten before. It wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility for Renee to return with something entirely experimental and inedible. "What are you doing here?"

"Last day in town - thought I'd take in the greatest Gotham has to offer," Melvin grinned, glancing around at the crowds of people.

"Last day? What? I thought you were-"

"Yes, yes, we all thought that. Turns out my next project has legs and it's a sprinter," Melvin joked.

"Can you tell me about it?"

"I'd have to kill you."

"Seems like a fair trade."

Melvin laughed, and Sophie felt her cheeks widen in memory of their time at Point Rock. She felt a tinge of sadness at knowing he would be gone so soon.

"I'm off to London for a bit, but I'll be back stateside soon enough," he said ambiguously.

"Special project?"

"Something like that. I need to convince the powers that be to let me choose the team though."

"Sounds important."

"Well, it'll certainly be some ground-up work. It's too bad you're here; I could use someone like you around."

"Always with the flattery."

"I'm serious," Melvin said, his face dropping into seriousness as he let his own thoughts catch up with his words. "Actually, yea… I mean, you've got the experience, and I know you have the smarts and skills needed…"

"Who knows - a month from now I might be out on my ass anyways," Sophie joked thinking about Jacob's retaliation when he would finally be reinstated in a few weeks.

"Would you consider it?"

Sophie laughed. "Consider it? You haven't told me what I'm supposed to be considering."

"The SSR is establishing a U.S. base-"

"No shit," Sophie said, a small fantasy building in her mind. "Really?"

"How do you feel about Atlanta?"

* * *

"Looks like rain," Kate said lamely, wandering a few rooftops over from her original lookout spot.

"Forecast is changing - there's some isolated clouds in the area," Luke replied with the same level of disinterest.

"Maybe it'll bring in a cool front…"

"Doubtful."

A boring silence passed between them.

"So this mauve… Where were you thinking mauve would go?" Kate said finally.

"I wasn't thinking everywhere: maybe just the kitchen-"

"No."

"Or the bathroom…?"

Kate paused, contemplating the idea of a purple bathroom. "I want to see paint samples."

"I've already narrowed it to three."

"And it's purple?"

"Yea."

"Nothing too bold, right?"

"No, no - it's… it's like a paler... lilac. You know lilac?"

Kate paused as a memory interrupted her thoughts. "Yea… yea, I know lilac," she said softly. After a moment she abruptly pulled herself back to the present. "But no patterns."

"For the safehouse? I wouldn't dream of it," Luke replied with the sound of a smile in his voice.

"Do you have anything else for the kitchen?" Kate offered as an olive branch.

* * *

"That's weird," Melvin scowled in confusion at the row of storefronts across the street.

"What is?"

"I could have sworn that hardware store…"

"You need a hammer or something, Mel?" Sophie teased.

" _It's Melvin_ ," he mocked back before turning serious again. "I asked Kate to come to this today, but she had some excuse that she was expecting a delivery from a 'Bob's Hardware'," he said, pointing to the boarded up storefront.

"Maybe there's another location?" Sophie offered before breaking into laughter as he pulled out his phone to check. "Since when have you doubted Kate?"

"Since she started lying to me."

Sophie stared at Melvin in disbelief. "I think if there's one thing we can both agree on, it's that Kate doesn't lie to yo-"

"There isn't," he cut in.

"What?"

"There isn't another location. This is the only one. It's been closed for three months," he continued, a small scowl of disappointment on his face. Sophie read it and immediately knew he was hurt that Kate could have lied to him.

"Maybe you misheard."

"Nope," Melvin said, shaking his head in annoyance. "I remember because I made a joke about it last night."

"I… I don't know - maybe call her?" Sophie offered, unsure how to address her friend's frustration. "She's been a bit… spaced out lately with everything. She's… she might have misremembered the place."

Melvin's eyes narrowed, not believing a word Sophie was saying. He watched her eyes bulge slightly as she caught sight of a familiar figure bobbing toward them.

"Renee's coming back - no Kate talk."

"Why would she lie though?"

"What did I just say-"

"Ah, Martin," Renee said, recognizing the now familiar face. She had a half-eaten hot dog in one hand, and an uneaten one, caramel corn, and cotton candy in the other.

" _Melvin_ ," Sophie and Melvin corrected in unison. Renee shrugged indifferently, and Sophie eyed her as she tried to conceal a sly grin.

"So, who's lying?" she asked before chomping into the partial hot dog.

"Uh, Melvin's sister," Sophie said quickly.

"Which one?" she asked, distracted by the balancing act she was performing with the food in her hands.

Melvin stared quizzically back at Renee.

"You have like, thirty-three, right?" she asked as she handed him the caramel corn.

Melvin broke into a smile as he glanced between her and Sophie. "Close… six, actually."

"Thirty-three, six; at a certain point it's all the same."

"You have siblings?" Melvin asked, his hand helping itself to the sugary treat Renee had surrendered.

"Four brothers."

Melvin whistled low through the mouthful of kernels. "Where do you fall?"

"Youngest."

"Me too!" he said excitedly, forgetting the train of thought from moments earlier.

"Sophie says there's a whole album of you in dresses as a kid."

"Not by choice," Melvin quickly defended, shooting Sophie a quick glare as she broke into a wide mischievous grin.

"No, I get it; dresses are the worst."

* * *

"Shit."

"What? Something happen?"

"My alibi is boarded up," she cursed from the latest rooftop.

"Is that supposed to make sense? Don't you mean your alibi is rock solid? Who says boarded u-"

"I told Melvin I couldn't meet him today because I was waiting on a delivery from Bob's Hardware."

"Oh. Yea, that place has been closed for months-"

"Yea, I can see it from here," Kate cut in annoyed.

"But what are the chances Melvin even sees that?"

"I'm gonna say... one hundred percent?"

"Generous."

"Well, he just texted me."

"So what's your excuse th-"

"And now he's calling. Hang on… hello?... Hey Melvin."

"Wow, this guy is fast," Luke remarked in Kate's ear.

"Yea, I'm literally just finding out now, too. Turns out it was a scam… only a couple thousand… no, I'm not calling the cops."

"He clearly hasn't spent much time in Gotham," Luke chuckled.

"...yea, sounds good. Text me the intersection… Who?... I see… no, no, it's - it's fine… I'll just - it's fine… I'm not lying… Melvin, drop it, yea?... Fine. Hopefully I'll make it before the show starts… great, see you soon."

"Should I bother asking?" Luke chimed in after Kate ended the call. He could pick up the strain in her voice as the call had evolved and wished he'd heard the other side.

"No," Kate said abruptly, her mood soured by the conversation.

"Did you just promise an appearance?"

"I couldn't exactly _not_ show up."

"See? This is why you should have me come up with the lies," Luke said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Oh, so I can date another Angelique?" she shot back, her mood only slightly improved.

"She was an amazing woman and you broke her heart."

Kate rolled her eyes at Luke's commitment to his fiction.

"So Melvin," Luke asked, reorienting around the newest obstacle.

"Right, my plan is to get lost or something."

"I'll find out what streets are closed-"

"-so that I never actually make it-"

"-until the parade is over-"

"-or you're at least in the clear."

"Exactly."

"Good thing it-"

A piercing tone cut through their banter, and Kate found herself pressing her hands to her ears to suppress it. She looked down at the streets to see scores of others doing the same. After a moment the high-pitched noise fell silent. Kate surveyed the area, searching for anything obviously amiss. Silence fell over the street as the crowd below did the same, also unsure where the noise came from.

"What just happened?" Luke asked. "My ears are ringing - was that from your end?"

"Yea… it sounded like audio feedback."

"From what? Is there supposed to be music?"

"No," Kate said, shaking her head as she glanced around at adjacent rooftops in growing curiosity. "Unless you count bad high school marching bands."

"Hey, I played trumpet in my marching band."

"Of course," Kate sighed, unsurprised by another example of how opposite their childhoods were.

A moment later the sound of a low hum followed by tapping rang through the streets. A small throat-clearing introduced the echo of a voice:

"Ahem, hello? Hello, is this thing w-"

Another low tone cut in before accelerating toward a higher pitch as before.

"-working?" More background noise drowned out any words coming through the speakers. "Hello? Hello?! Ah, here we go… Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the re-first annual Gotham City Parade!"

A sporadic and confused applause could be heard from the crowd below, as they too searched the surrounding buildings for where the voice was being projected from. A hiss and pop emanated through the streets as more audio feedback buzzed over the hidden speakers.

"I will be serving as your emcee for the length of this underwhelming performance. For three years Gotham's citizens sat in wait for the City to be re-energized into action and give the people the traditions it deserves!"

The voice had a deep rasp to it but carried hints of pomp and circumstance even if the remarks were tongue in cheek. To Kate, there was an eerie carnivalesque quality to it.

"Luke, are you hearing this?"

"Yea."

"Is it live?"

"I think so. It looks like whoever it is is tapping into the emergency speaker system."

"The emergency… I thought that was put out of commission years ago?" Kate asked. She recalled briefly seeing the shiny speakers installed along the streets of Gotham when she was a kid. It was an untested strategy for improving neighborhood safety. With all of the crime, the city thought the best way to communicate immediate dangers was through the installation of larger speakers in each borough. After years of ineffective operation and late-night false alarms, funding for their upkeep was stripped from the city's budget, and they'd fallen into disrepair. That they were able to function after all of these years was surprising news to Kate.

"It was; no one has used it in years. I'm surprised it still works," Luke replied, voicing Kate's thoughts.

"Can you track it?" she asked. "I don't trust this."

"Already working on it. Head south toward the circle"

* * *

"Is this always a part of the parade?" Sophie asked, noting the quizzical looks around them as the Gotham High School marching band serenaded their block with a terrible rendition of _Sweet Caroline_.

"No, must be new," Renee shouted over the off-rhythm snare. She poked her head distractedly over the crowds to see the Bat-Balloon on the horizon bouncing toward them. "Honestly, once the balloon passes, I'm down to bail. This is… well, it reminds me of my childhood."

"Depressing? Bleak? Narrated by a strange man with a raspy voice?" Melvin asked curiously. Being nearly six inches taller, he had a better vantage of the upcoming line-up, and he began understanding why Kate was so against coming in the first place.

"And serving as Grand Marshall this year is none other than Mayor Aubrey James! He is a man of vast privilege now entering his eighth corrupt term. Isn't it funny what old money does in a city full of crooked politicians?"

"Did he just…?" Melvin asked.

"Diss the Mayor? Yea," Sophie said, her senses spiking.

"Maybe he's just getting the crowd warmed up? It's not like James' approval ratings are stellar," Renee commented.

"But didn't that guy just say he's entering his eighth term?"

"You've never spent much time in Gotham, have you?" Renee asked, a smirk appearing as Melvin stared back in confusion. "Consider this a crash course: things don't happen because it has public support - they happen because a few families with old money pull the strings."

"Like the Wayne family?" Melvin asked, nodding toward the tower looming in the distance.

"Sure, the Waynes, the Cobblepots, the Elliots, the Crownes, the Kanes…" Renee rattled off.

"Kane? Like, like Kate Kane?" Melvin asked with some surprise.

Renee laughed. "I thought you two went to school together."

"We did…"

"And it never came up that her family owns 80 percent of Gotham?"

"That sounds a bit extreme," Melvin countered, his eyes narrowed in skepticism.

"It's not," Sophie said distractedly, her eyes scanning the surrounding buildings. "Basically if it doesn't have 'Wayne' on it-"

"The Kane family owns it. It was only in the last few years they sold off chunks of it to fund the Crows. The Elliot family was a big buyer in that sell-off. I heard it's all because of bad blood between Bruce Wayne and Tommy Elliot," Renee cut in.

Renee continued educating Melvin on the history of Gotham real estate as Sophie surveyed the parapets. She was well aware of the Kane family's presence in Gotham, but what she didn't understand was why a mysterious voice echoing through the streets wasn't causing more concern.

"I'm sure many of you are eagerly awaiting the prized Bat-Balloon! It has a tarnished history. As many might remember, the balloon was premiered three years into the Batman's reign over Gotham's baddies. Ironic that a balloon of rubber outlasted the caped crusader. After three years of collecting dust, the old bag has been inflated to treat the city of Gotham to a bit of nostalgia."

"I'll be right back," Sophie muttered, stepping away from Melvin and Renee who were now in a heated discussion about Gotham's 'new' money.

"-Hamilton Dynamics is imported money-"

"-but they make some of the most cutting edge weaponry."

"That's not even on topic. We're talking about Gotham's elite."

Sophie wandered through the crowds, her eyes fixed upward. The voice broke in again, and Sophie took the chance to look for movement in the surrounding areas. A flicker of black caught her attention, and she looked up to see a familiar cape disappear as quickly as it appeared. She stared for a moment, confirming her suspicions before bolting south, trailing the movement of Batwoman as she fled over the rooftops.

* * *

"Anything?" Kate asked, slightly winded.

"Three more blocks, I think. The closer you get, the better I can pick up the feed."

"Got it," Kate replied before vaulting herself across an alley onto an adjacent rooftop. "Any chance we can get that Batsuit 2.0 in beta?"

"I'll have ice ready for when you're back."

"That didn't answer my question," Kate shot back as she leapt to a fire stair.

* * *

Sophie scanned the top of the buildings, worried she'd lost Batwoman. The sounds of the raspy voice was creating an eerie silence over the crowds, and onlookers were glancing curiously between each other. She turned off the main strip, convinced she'd lost the red-headed cowl.

She paused briefly, barely registering the words coming through the speakers when she caught sight of Batwoman swinging across an intersection. Sophie glanced around trying to determine if anyone from the crowd had seen the vigilante, but they were all distracted by the incoming parade and booming narration. She continued her advances in the direction Batwoman had just swung toward, the concern in her gut growing. If Batwoman was involving herself, something definitely wasn't right.

* * *

"Ok, I'm in," Kate said. It had taken an extra minute to gain access to the building. It took Luke pestering her to break a window to finally give in and shatter the glass of a small pane. Kate glanced around, noting the degraded state of the space. "Why do bad guys always hide out in dingy buildings?" she muttered.

"Because of the low rent and guaranteed privacy, I imagine," Luke countered sarcastically. Kate grinned as she stepped into the main hall. She was on the ground level and noted the dated but classic charm of the interiors.

"So, where next? Left? Right? Up? Dow-"

A sound from her left made Kate turn. Her eyes landed on a door that, seconds later, was kicked open. Kate's fingers instinctively reached for her bo-staff before her eyes adjusted to the new light being cast into the hallway.

"Sophie?" she asked, unable to hide her surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Same as you, I assume."

"Kate, this guy is saying some weird stuff," Luke echoed in her ear, making reference to the commentator still ringing through the streets.. "Talking about the nostalgia of _old Gotham_? And the signal is getting distorted, which either means we're way off, or we're getting close."

"Where we going?" Sophie asked, her chest rising and falling quickly from her chase to catch up with Batwoman.

"You're staying here," Kate said defensively. Her focus had pivoted entirely at the sight of Sophie.

"No, I'm coming with you."

"This isn't a nego-"

" _Kate_ , if she wants to tag along-" Luke started.

"No," Kate interrupted.

"We both know she's too stubborn to sit back and wait."

"L- it's not… _fine_ , but this is… good," Kate hissed, her annoyance clear.

Sophie watched the one-sided dialogue with growing confusion. It suddenly occurred to her that Batwoman had to have a partner - how else could she navigate around the city with such accuracy?

Without another word, Batwoman took off down the hall. Sophie quickly followed after, matching her step for step as she mysteriously navigated them through the building. That Batwoman didn't stop her could only mean that the voice on the other side of the radio had persuaded her to drop it. For that, Sophie was secretly pleased, if not slightly jealous at the sway this mysterious voice had over the vigilante. At one point Batwoman paused, staring off in a strange concentration before backtracking which only reinforced Sophie's conclusion: someone was guiding them.

"Is there someone-"

"Shh," Batowman cut in sharply.

After three floors of stairs and an endless maze of twists and turns, Batwoman halted in front of a door. The only sounds were her and Sophie's heavy breathing and a muted voice from the other side that carried the cadence of the announcer reverberating through the streets below. Batwoman lifted her hand to motion Sophie to remain behind.

Sophie glared back in disagreement. After a tense stare-off in the dark hallway, Sophie sighed in defeat. She watched Batwoman press her ear to the door for a moment before backing away enough to deliver a forceful kick. The door broke open, and the voice inside the room overflowed into the hall.

Batwoman quickly entered the room, scanninging it for the voice's body. Sophie glanced in and followed after, surveying the space in a mirrored direction to Batwoman. Instead of a person, they found a speaker box set in front of a microphone:

"Well ladies and gents, that's all for me, and right on time! It looks like our guest of honor has just arrived!"

Sophie's eyes fell onto the set-up. It was situated on a stool with a full contraption of wires behind it. Within that contraption was a set of red digital numbers behind the speaker. It took only a second for Sophie to realize they were counting down: 00:13… 00:12… 00:11...

"Is that…?" she asked, trying to interpret the gadget's set-up.

00:09...

"You may be wondering what this little countdown is for, Batwoman."

Sophie and Batwoman both froze, their eyes fixed on the speaker. The sound from the speaker was still being transmitted through the streets, and they could hear the delayed broadcast echoing from the outside into the room.

00:08

"I'll give you two hints: -"

00:07

"Sophie, get out-" Batwoman said quietly, standing over the contraption, but Sophie didn't budge, her eyes glancing between the speaker and Batwoman.

"Number 1: there will be two 'booms' -"

00:05

"-two booms?" Sophie repeated, working through the words.

"- and number 2: it has the power to pluck a symbol from the sky."

" _Sophie_ -" Batwoman said, looking over and realizing she was still in the room. There was a strain in her voice that made Sophie's stomach drop.

00:04

"They're bombs," Sophie said. "Two bombs-"

"It has been a true pleasure spending this time with you-"

00:03…

"- but I need to be off before the sound of Batwoman's screams -"

"Sophie, we need to get-"

00:02…

"- are transmitted across the city."

"- _out_."

00:01

"Enjoy the parade!"

The last words faded into nothing as a bright flash erupted. A deafening sound blew through the space, and the last thing Sophie felt was a heavy force engulf her.


	21. Chapter 21

"What is that?" Melvin shouted to Renee. They were trying to swim upstream through swarms of people running away from the deflating balloon. A cloud of hazy blue fog growing out of the collapsing bat had caught Melvin's attention as they drew closer.

"I-I don't know," Renee shouted back with a sliver of fear in her voice.

What had begun as a simple afternoon filled with childhood nostalgia was suddenly becoming a nightmare. Renee hesitated, stopping her progress as she took in the scene: people who were just outside of the fog's radius were fleeing in terror, but the people caught inside the blue cloud were reacting very differently.

"Melvin!" Renee shouted suddenly. Realizing he was too far ahead, she rushed through the wave of people to catch up with him. "Melvin, wait!"

He paused, hearing Renee shout his voice.

"Look," Renee pointed out, and Melvin began seeing what Renee had observed moments before. "They're… it looks like they're…"

"Why aren't they leaving?" Melvin wondered aloud of the silhouettes caught in the fog.

"I think that fog has something to do with it."

"It came out of the balloon. The voice-"

"This has to have been one of the two."

"But what was the other one?"

"Didn't you hear him before it cut out? The other one was for Batwoman," Renee concluded.

* * *

Sophie felt the ground meet her in a rush. Just as quickly as the bright light appeared, everything was cloaked in black. She felt a sharp pain where her head struck the ground and stars appeared collaged across her eyes. A surge of adrenaline raced through her veins as she tried to identify the unexpected weight pinning her to the ground. Disoriented, she blinked through the renewed darkness, trying to understand what had just happened: how was she still coherent, and how was she still in one piece?

Her fingers gripped into the darkness around the form on top of her. It took only a second to realize the feel of the curves beneath her hands were from another body.

The weight on top of her shifted, and Sophie began to remember the final seconds before the explosion: just as the clock depleted, Batwoman had leapt, shielding her from the blast. It was both selfless and reckless. The burst of light had come from the explosion rigged to the timer, and the ensuing darkness had come from Batwoman's cape currently covering her face. It was only as it slid off that Sophie saw the remnants of the explosion as dull flames lingering along the edges of the room.

Batwoman rolled herself off Sophie, letting out a small groan of aching. After a moment of orienting herself, she sat upright to survey the room.

"You ok?" she muttered, glancing over at Sophie.

"Small bump but - I-I'm fine…" Sophie began, as she watched Batwoman climb to her feet. She stared stunned that she was able to do this with ease after acting as the barrier between a bomb and Sophie's certain death only moments earlier. "H-how are you?" she asked, trying to match Batwoman's response time and stand. As she began to rise though, a wave of nausea and dizziness forced her back down.

"Head?" Batwoman asked, finally registering Sophie's earlier words. Her voice was filled with apology and concern, and before Sophie could respond, Batwoman had returned to Sophie's level. A bright light appeared out of nowhere. "Look ahead," Batwoman said softly before bringing the light to her right eye.

After a moment she alternated to the left before going through the process again with both eyes. Just as quickly as it all began, the light disappeared, and Sophie found herself trying to blink away the floating dots that remained.

"Concussion," Batwoman said simply, but her tone suggested anger. Anger at what exactly, Sophie couldn't determine. "You should get to a hospital to make sure it isn't anything serious."

Sophie stared up in surprise.

"Me? Wh-what about you? You literally just took a bomb to the back," Sophie asked in surprise.

"I'll be fine. A small explosion is nothing to having a building fall on you," Batwoman said dryly. Sophie was about to respond in apology when she saw a small smirk play across Batwoman's face.

Sophie slowly rose to her feet, ignoring the waves of dizziness as she scanned the room. Bits of residue could faintly be made out from the explosion, and Sophie took in the remnants, noting that the fading flames meant even the smallest bits of evidence were slowly disintegrating.

"He said there were two," Batwoman muttered from across the room.

Sophie stared in mild amazement at Batwoman's ability to refocus before jumping alongside her thought process. Concussion or not, there was another threat at play.

"He also said something about pulling or… popping-"

"Plucking a symbol from the sky," Batwoman interrupted. She said it with a familiarity like she'd heard the words before.

"What does that mean?" Sophie asked, walking toward the point of detonation and seeing little that could be identified.

"I…" Batwoman began before fading out. Her head turned toward the hall as she exited the room. Sophie followed after as she watched Batwoman silently navigate through the building again. It was as they got closer to the west edge of it that the screaming and shouting could be heard. They paused at a stairwell being flooded by light passing through dingy glass blocks.

"Hang on… a symbol… from the sky? Did - did he mean you?" Sophie said, the pieces starting to come together. "The bomb. He knew you'd show up. That was the first. And the second?... The parade. The-the balloon?"

"I need to go," Batwoman replied simply, coming to the same conclusion. She began ascending the stairs toward the roof.

"I'm coming with you," Sophie rushed, following Batwoman.

"Not a chance. You're staying here-"

"No, I'm not letting y-"

"Soph, stop," Batwoman interrupted, pausing on the steps and looking back toward Sophie. The shadows kept her face in the dark, but it was clear to Sophie from her voice that she wasn't open for negotiating. Even if Sophie disregarded her, Batwoman would be faster without her tagging along. But there was something else.

"Wh-..." Sophie opened her mouth to argue but fell silent. She stared back at Batwoman, a lingering familiarity tingling at her periphery -

"You have a concussion. You're in no position to do anything until you get checked out," Batwoman began. "Call for back-up. You're Lead Crow. Get every on-call member down here now."

Sophie barely registered the words before Batwoman continued climbing the stairs.

"And don't leave until they get here," Batwoman's voice commanded, her voice echoing down the stairwell as her figure disappeared.

* * *

"You just called her Soph. I thought..." Luke remarked cautiously as he heard Kate's breathing labor with each flight of stairs she climbed. "I mean, maybe she didn't notice, but-"

"She noticed," Kate admitted between breaths, cursing herself for the slip-up.

"We'll deal with it later," Luke offered, as she reached the top landing and knowing her mind was on the task at hand. While Kate was recovering from the explosion four floors down, Luke's ear had been pressed to the GCPD radio line which was reporting an explosion along the parade route. The specifics were still unclear, but rioting and violence had followed in the surrounding areas.

"So what happened?" Kate asked, repeating her actions from earlier of kicking through the locked door to the roof.

"From what I can gather, the balloon was rigged."

"Explosives?"

"That's the weird thing: there was no sign of detonation."

"What do you mean?"

"It's almost like it just popped."

"So what's the problem?"

"It's what came out of the balloon that's the problem."

"What does _that_ mean?" Kate asked, wishing Luke could provide an auto-download of information.

"That's what I'm still trying to figure out… but Kate…"

"What?"

"It doesn't look good."

* * *

"This doesn't look good," Melvin remarked. They'd been lingering at the perimeter of the fog for a few minutes, trying to understand what exactly it was. It hung in the air, unwilling or unable to dissipate. The remnants of the bat balloon were piled in the middle of the street as an eerie symbol. Anyone who wasn't in the fog's range had cleared the area, leaving Melvin, Renee, and a handful of GCPD watching in isolation from the sidelines.

They watched the people caught in the haze react in different ways. Some had collapsed while others appeared to react aggressively. The sound of glass shattering could be heard through the shouts as some began damaging adjacent storefronts.

"You guys called for backup, right?" Melvin asked one of the cops. The cop nodded silently, his eyes wide with fear. He was young with barely any stubble on his face. Melvin glanced over at the other two cops who were of similar age. "How long have you been cops?"

"Uh, six months sir," he replied nervously.

"And them?" He asked, nodding at the other two.

"Same, sir. We were in the same graduating class."

"They just let you patrol without a senior partner?"

"Only on weekends, sir. Senior cops don't work weekends."

"Shit," Melvin said, realizing the backup wasn't going to be anyone with leadership experience. He walked over to Renee. "Can the Crows-"

"I got a notification two minutes ago. They're already inbound," Renee replied, waving her phone at him. In unison they both concluded: "Sophie."

She had disappeared minutes before the incident, and Renee had a lingering suspicion that Sophie had somehow already found herself in the middle of it.

An explosion caused them to redirect their attention back to the dense blue. A car erupted in flames, drowning out the cries and shouts from within it.

"We need to get in there," Renee said, anxious to help.

"Not until we know what that stuff is," Melvin said with mounting frustration. "How can it take this long for back-up?"

Just then a silhouette swung past them from a rooftop above before landing beyond the fog's edge.

"Is that-?"

"Batwoman? Yea," Renee said with a sigh.

"Looks like one of the two didn't work."

"Looks that way."

"Not a fan?" Melvin asked, noting the tone in Renee's voice.

"Normally, no. But today? Today, I'll take whatever we can get."

* * *

Kate landed less than gracefully inside the thick of the cloud. She wasn't used to the mask and its effect on her depth perception was making it difficult to gauge her surroundings.

She glanced around, trying to make sense of the chaos contained within the fog.

"I'm picking up at least thirty," Luke advised. "What's the thinking? Passive or active ones first?"

"Passive," Kate replied. Luke had tapped into the street cameras and provided a summary of findings while she made her way over. There was a spectrum of activity, but generally people fell into two camps: either they were unmoving, as though paralyzed by something, or they were actively chasing something. "They'll be easy casualties if the violent ones get too…"

"Violent?" Luke offered.

"Uncreative, but sure," she said, making her way over to a huddled form.

* * *

Sophie was rushing up 6th Avenue toward the parade route shouting commands to the task force over the sounds of screaming and shouting. Like Melvin and Renee, she was fighting to make progress against the current of people fleeing for safer spaces, and Sophie quietly cursed the lack of GCPD presence at the parade. She'd yet to see a single cop or police vehicle.

"I want one team on the north end, two each to the east and west setting up a perimeter. A fourth come up from the south - I'll meet you one block due south of the intersection," Sophie commanded over the radio. "Paulie, your team was already stationed over at Miller Harbor?... Good, you lead the eastside. Willis will take Robinson park to the west. Under no circumstances is lethal force to be used, you copy?... rubber bullets _only_ if warranted," she commanded. "Check in when positions are made."

By the time she finished her direction, the crowd had dissipated, allowing the freedom to navigate more easily up the street. She could see a strange blue haze a few blocks up and figured it was the site of the former bat balloon. Cast against it was a backdrop of ever-growing cloud coverage. An ominous strike of lightning off in the distance meant things were about to get even more difficult.

* * *

"There!" Renee shouted, rushing toward the incoming red-cowled figure carrying another person out of the mist. Melvin remained back, working to contain the other seven Batwoman had already brought out, unsure how many more they could handle before more help arrived.

Batwoman said very little, her mask limiting communication, but the bit she did say suggested there were more to come, and these first ones were the calmest of them all. Melvin wasn't sure he wanted to know what the erratic ones would be like.

The first few came out and curled up into fetal positions, crying and mumbling nonsensical remarks. One woman was weeping about her missing daughter while another man kept apologizing to someone named Timmy. The fifth one was the first sign of variability: instead of sitting quietly, lost in his own self-destitution, he lashed out, grabbing Renee in the process and accusing her of ruining his life.

"Why? Why didn't you stop?!" he screamed over and over. That Renee had never met the man before in her life did little to quell his shouts of terror, and Melvin and one of the cops quickly detained him with a set of cuffs.

"This one was a bit of trouble," Batwoman said.

"What happened?" Renee asked, noting a slight limp in Batwoman's step as she lowered an unconscious female to the ground.

"Not sure. It was either a pipe or the world's stalest piece of bread. People have broken into a hardware store - my guess is she thought she was defending herself. Things might start to get messy."

"Start?"

"Touché. Where's back-up?" she asked, trying to catch her breath and looking up to see the same empty street as before.

"I'd give it another five," Renee said apologetically as she leaned down to check the unconscious woman's pulse. "Her heart is racing."

"That makes two of us," Batwoman said. "You got her?" she continued, looking back toward the fires burning inside the fog.

"Yea, you go," Renee said, waving over one of the cops.

Renee glanced back to see Batwoman raise her grappling gun, and as she did, she noticed the clouds breaking open and a plane of raindrops begin to fall from the sky.

* * *

"I hate the rain," Kate muttered as she ascended to a nearby terrace, the rain that started as a sprinkle quickly accelerated into a downpour.

"An hour ago it was the heat."

"An hour ago I wasn't fending off irrationally angry people."

"Does this mean you'd rather be fighting irrationally angry people in the heat?"

Kate paused, realizing Luke had outwitted her.

"Where's the next one?" she continued, brushing past Luke's remark.

She heard a snicker through the mic as she surveyed the ground below. There were still dozens of people, and she couldn't keep this up. They were beginning to attack together - the last person she pulled out came at the expense of a few surprise blows by her unintentional comrades.

"Ten feet southwest of the burning taxi," he replied. "They've been still for a while. My guess is they're harmless."

"On it," Kate replied affirmatively before leaping from her post toward the glowing flames.

"You're getting better," Luke teased as she only stumbled a pace or two on landing.

"Next time you get to jump around, and I'll sit behind the computer," Kate muttered.

* * *

"Melvin?"

"Sophie! We wondered where you'd gone to. Care to join in the fun?" Melvin asked.

"We?"

"Renee's around here somewhere. Any chance there's more than just you as back-up?"

"Six teams should be here any minute," Sophie said distracted by the group of people handcuffed around her. "What is this?"

"That," Melvin began, gesturing toward the blue haze, "is making everyone and their mothers go mad. I've never seen anything like it."

"How are you getting them out?"

"Batwoman," Melvin said simply. "Can you help me with-?" he continued, nodding toward the male struggling to stand while cuffed. They both rushed over to keep the man grounded. "Ah, you're the one whose life was ruined by Renee. Poor chap."

"What?" Sophie asked in confusion as she scanned around and saw the incoming Crow truck.

"I'll tell you later. Get your guys in there - Batwoman's doing her best but is not equipped for… all of that," he gestured toward the fog. "Although, this rain is helping."

Melvin wasn't wrong; the rain was beginning to clear the haze and, with it, make clear the ongoing destruction occurring along the city block. That the fog was dissipating introduced another problem: the people infected by whatever gas was in the balloon were beginning to wander outside of the cloud's perimeter.

"Did you babysit as a kid?" Melvin asked casually as he watched a burly looking male with a bat come running out of the cloud.

"Nannied for two summers, why?"

"Great, so you'll be fine watching these guys while I…" he said, gesturing toward the fleeing figure.

"Go," Sophie said, rolling her eyes as he broke into a grin.

* * *

"Behind you and to the left," Luke advised as Kate dodged another incoming strike before taking a blow to the side.

"Not helping," Kate heaved. She heard two shouts to her right and, before she had to to react, was shoved by something on her left. Losing her balance, she fell to her side before a weight pinned her to the ground.

"You killed them!" a voice shouted at her.

"Wh-?" She took a blow to the side before she could orient herself to the swinging limbs of the man above her. She braced her arms to block another strike before countering it with her own blow. He paused in surprise, and Kate saw tears were streaming down his face.

"Why didn't you save them? Why weren't you th-"

"What are you _talking_ about?" Kate shouted, knocking him off her. She quickly rolled over, pinning him to the ground as he continued shouting.

"You were supposed to be there for us Batman, and now they're dead," he cried.

"What is going on?" Kate muttered.

"Kate, I think… I think he thinks you're Batman."

* * *

"Duck!" came a cry from behind Renee. Instinctively she lowered herself to the ground and felt the wind above her whistle as an object swung through the air. She glanced up just in time to see Melvin fly out of nowhere and tackle a figure to her left wielding a saw. The saw fell lamely next to them as Melvin made quick work of pinning him to the ground.

"Zip-tie?" Melvin called behind him at Renee, jolting her from the moment's shock.

She quickly lifted herself from the ground, hurrying to Melvin's side.

"That was impressive," Renee said in surprise.

"Yea, you should see what I can do when I'm _not_ on vacation," Melvin said, slightly winded.

"Speaking of vacation, any sign of Sophie or is she still on one?"

"She dropped in a few minutes ago but left for the park," Melvin said. "A pack of the zombies sprang loose, and your guys are tracking them in there. Another group just entered the cloud with gas masks. They're making quick work."

"Zombies?"

"I haven't had time to come up with something cleverer."

"I won't hold it against you," she said as they worked to heave the struggling form up and toward the Crows truck half a block away.

Renee watched as two Crow team members rushed toward them. "Let go of him," one said. Melvin and Renee hesitated before complying and, without warning, the Crow tased the man, causing him to collapse to the ground.

"What did you do that for? He was tied up," Melvin asked, stunned by the act as the two Crow members scooped the limp form up.

"He's a danger; we need to contain him."

"You can't just do that to innocent people. These people aren't criminals," Melvin shouted. "Whatever they inhaled - they're not thinking clearly; they're not themselves."

"Tell that to the shop owners," the other Crow member said as they dragged the man toward the truck.

* * *

"You said _how many_?" Sophie asked, hardly believing her ears over the pouring rain and pounding ache in her head.

"42, ma'am. Gotham General's ER unit is at capacity. We're sending the rest to University Hospital over in Newark."

"Good. You've sent notice?"

"Yes, they can take another ten plus what we've already sent. We're running a north to south sweep for stragglers. The blockade to the south has just been established as a terminating line."

"Make sure the east and west edges are tracked as well. We've already had stragglers racing through the park. Have the four teams already set up act as the boundary limits."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Make sure we capture as much evidence as we can before the rain wipes it away. Get water samples; I want to know what that stuff is. I also want a team at the old warehouse off 68th and 6th. A detonation occurred there, and I want any evidence bagged and tagged."

"Yes, ma'am, forensics is ten minutes out."

"Were there any casualties?"

"One reported; a civilian trampled to death. "

"Identified?"

"Not yet. GCPD has the body. There's another fifty or so listed as missing. I think we can assume the 42 will drop that list down quite a bit once identified though."

Sophie sighed. "Thanks Willis. Please work as point for the sweep. If you find anything, let me know immediately."

"Yes, ma'am."

She watched Willis turn to leave before pausing.

"And ma'am?"

"What?"

"Might I suggest an umbrella?" he said, noting Sophie's appearance.

Sophie smirked

"It's a bit late for that now, Willis." She had long ago reached the threshold of being drenched. He nodded in understanding before running toward the nearest Crow truck. The lights were glowing through the rain, and she could just make out the silhouettes of Crows loitering in wait for direction. She saw Willis hand down her orders and the group react by jumping into the truck. The brake lights glowed red before releasing, and she watched the truck accelerate north toward the rest of the Crows sweeping the area.

She glanced around the rest of the site, seeing a number of Crows setting up perimeter around the deflated balloon. Her eyes finally landed on Melvin who was positioned under an awning, squinting out over the streets with a look of concern.

"Why the look? Never been wet before?" Sophie asked, as she walked toward him. The teasing smile on her face fell when she saw the seriousness on his.

"I think Kate's missing," he said simply.

"What?" Sophie asked, her stomach dropping. "What do you mean?"

"Or at least she's suddenly stopped answering her phone. Which is… I've called her a handful of times and keep getting voicemail," Melvin said, clearly worried as he pulled out his phone again. "She was on her way over."

"How long ago?"

"I called her when the balloon first…"

Sophie hesitated. There had been a casualty. Another handful were missing. "I… I don't know, I mean Kate is - I mean, maybe…" Sophie said before trailing off. Her head was pulsing from earlier, but her mind was racing with these variables. Kate wasn't one to go silent.

"Have you cleared the area?"

"We're doing another pass before the all-clear."

"Maybe her phone got… I could call in a favor and track it. Do you have her address?" Melvin asked, his operative skills at work trying to come up with options.

"Y-yea," Sophie said, mentally plotting the fastest route. She knew she should stay behind to oversee the task force, but she also noticed Melvin glance at his watch. "How much time?" she asked, realizing his flight was looming.

"Just under three hours."

"You should go."

"But what abo-"

"You go; I'll message you when I find her propped up in some corner club," Sophie said, trying to stay light. "It is Saturday after all."

Melvin eyed her skeptically. "I think you're joking, but that isn't-"

"I know," Sophie said, admitting what she'd come to realize two weeks earlier. "They're all lies."

A recent article in the Gotham Gazette had tied Kate to the Iceberg Lounge the same night they'd shared half a bottle of whisky at Kate's new place. That was all Sophie needed to begin interrogating the articles more closely and realizing for herself that they weren't exactly based in reality. What she didn't understand was why Kate was going along with it if they were fake.

"Seems to be a pattern with her these days," Melvin remarked darkly. "Are you - is it going to be a problem with Renee if..."

Sophie's scowl was enough to quiet Melvin. Regardless of what ultimatum was or wasn't at play, Sophie wasn't about to let it dictate whether she'd look for Kate or not.

"Message me when you find her."

"I will," Sophie said, a cloud of concern looming at Kate's silence. "How about next time-"

"We don't have a domestic terrorist attack as the day's entertainment?"

"Something like that," Sophie said as Melvin grinned sadly.

"I..."

"I'm sure she's fine."

"I… I know…" he said, glancing at his watch. His superiors would skin him alive if he missed the flight. The domino effect meant missing a full day of meetings, briefings, and schmoozing.

"Go. It's fine… it's… it's Kate."

"That's what I'm worried about. You remember her during fourth term."

"I was actually thinking about fifth."

"Same difference. She isn't-"

"Invincible. I know."


	22. Chapter 22

"You gonna be ok?" came Luke's voice over the phone.

"Yea, nothing an ice pack and a nap won't fix," Kate replied dismissively, as she ignored the soreness beginning to extend across her body from the day's activities. The truth was that she was counting down the steps to her bed as she entered the lobby. She also knew her debrief with Luke was really just his excuse to check on her more than anything else. He had offered to stop by the safehouse, but Kate had no intention of staying awake long enough for that.

She also couldn't fathom making the trip back to Wayne Tower to change, so she'd taken advantage of the duffle bag of spare clothes she'd stored in a dumpster near the parade route for just this occasion. That they were half soaked from the downpour did little to impact Kate's thrill at getting back to the flat faster than usual.

"I was doing some digging through Bruce's logs, and it looks like he used two things to counteract the effects of blue poppie."

It hadn't taken long for Kate and Luke to conclude the gas was some variation of the fear toxin. Luke first realized it and, once the Crows showed up to help clear the area, he left Kate to take care of business while he began pouring over Bruce's notes. Their growing theory was that Dr. Butler and Tommy were involved, but how they had executed such an elaborate plan was still unclear.

"And are either of those available over the counter?" Kate asked.

"Unfortunately, no. One is some custom antidote, and the other is adrenaline."

"Adrenaline? That doesn't make any sense. Doesn't fear toxin amplify your heart rate?"

"Bruce used the adrenaline in the field. The antidote will knock someone right out. He couldn't afford taking a nap mid-fight, and there's something sciencey about it. Honestly I think it'd be best to chat with Mary about it."

"Luke," Kate cut in, barely paying attention to his words as she pressed her phone between cheek and shoulder while she pressed the lift button. "I hear you, I really do, but can we leave the rest of this for tomorrow?"

"Sure, of course…"

"But?" Kate asked, hearing one in Luke's tone.

"I guess I'm just worried… What if - is there a chance this isn't a one-off attack? What do we do if this happens again? At a larger scale? On a day when it doesn't rain?"

Kate sighed against the walls of the elevator as it closed shut. She took the momentary shift of it beginning to move as a prompt to speak.

"I'll talk to Mary. Maybe she can… I don't know. Do you have the antidote er… recipe?"

"Yea, I'll send it to you. It doesn't have to be tonight, but Kate, public sentiment is-"

"Waning, yea, I know. I saw the headlines," she sighed again. Her trip back to the apartment had been filled with sirens, blocked roads, and desolate streets. People were scared, and the first narratives were accusing Batwoman of stoking out the latest wave of crime in the city.

"And I don't think they're wrong," she admitted. It was a thought that had started small and grown over the course of the afternoon and into the evening as she watched the growing destruction. The attack was a concerted effort to destroy the symbol of Batman, and seeing the anger and fear for him from the very people she was trying to help did little to ease her doubts.

"Kate, this was a delusional attempt to paint a narrative."

"No, Luke, this was literally an attack against Batwoman, and for that people got hurt. Someone died because of this," she said as the elevator slowed. "Maybe we're in over our heads," she continued, exiting the elevator and admitting a growing apprehension.

"Kate, this is one bump; having the bat back in the sky was bound to bring out some suppressed resentment, but that's no reason to doubt what you're doing. You're still out there every night helping people."

"But what's the point?" Kate asked, pausing to fish out her keys. "It's just… in all of this, has crime even gone down? Or are we kidding ourselves thinking any of this had made a difference in…"

"In…?" came Luke's expectant voice.

"Soph?" Kate stared back in confusion, nearly dropping her phone in the process.

"Kate?" came Luke's voice again.

"Wh- Lu-, I-I'll-"

"You'll call me back," Luke chimed in, sensing the shock in Kate's stammer.

"Uh-huh," Kate mumbled. She lowered the phone from her cheek and stared back at her ex, drenched from head to toe and clearly surprised to see Kate on the exterior side of the flat's door. From the water droplets on the floor beneath Sophie, it was clear she had also just arrived at the building.

"Soph, what are you-"

"Where have you been?" Sophie interrupted, her tone filled with worry. Kate watched this worry on her face slowly turn from relief to skepticism as she eyed Kate's equally soaked appearance.

"I - I… was…" Kate replied, at a loss for words. She felt her fingers grip the duffle bag's handle nervously. "I was uhm, at - at the gym."

"The gym?"

"Yea… bike broke down on the way home, so... " Kate said, seeing the look on Sophie's face and immediately regretting her words. How could she forget?

"Really? Because Melvin said you were meeting him at the parade," Sophie said, her skepticism growing to suspicion.

"You were with Melvin?" Kate feigned, already knowing she'd been caught in a lie. A surge of panic pierced through her as she scanned for an excuse.

"Yea, apparently you lied about a delivery or someth- actually, it doesn't matter. You said one thing and - and we were worried, but clearly you're alive so..." Sophie said, a mix of emotions coming to a head.

"Why wouldn't I be alive?" Kate continued feigning as she felt a knot tighten in her stomach.

"Haven't you seen the news?"

"Uh…"

"There was an attack at the parade."

"Oh, wow. I hadn't heard-"

"That's interesting, because nearly every street leading to your place is blocked off because of it," Sophie said, her skepticism turning into a line of interrogation.

"Yea, I mean, I thought that was weird but…" Kate said before trailing off. "Were… were you there? Is… are you ok? Is Melvin...?"

"We're fine. It's…" Sophie began before trailing off. "Why are you lying?"

"I - I'm not, So-"

"Yes you are," Sophie interrupted.

Kate stared back at Sophie, her eyes searching Sophie's for a sign she'd give in. When none came, Kate sighed. "I… can I?" Kate asked, nodding over Sophie's shoulder toward the door. Sophie stepped aside to let Kate pass, eyeing every step with a new level of criticism. Kate tried to seem as casual as possible given the circumstances, but she could feel the burning observation of Sophie's stare behind her. She heard the click of the lock and, with a small swell of relief, unlatched the door and stepped into the flat, trying to casually toss the duffle into a forgotten corner.

"Kate."

"Sophie," Kate replied, unwilling to turn around and look her in the eye for fear of being found out.

Sophie stood in the doorframe, unwavering in her stare. She glanced between the duffle and Kate.

"So if I go and open that duffle?" Sophie challenged, taking a step toward it. "I'll find a bunch of gym clothes?"

Kate stepped defensively toward the bag before freezing, realizing she'd revealed her bluff.

"I… no," Kate finally admitted.

"Why are you lying? And to Melvin of all people?" Sophie continued her line of interrogation, swinging the door shut and stepping into the space. The space suddenly felt much smaller for it.

"I wasn't lying about… I wasn't lying about the hardware," Kate lied.

"We'll come back to that," Sophie said, not believing Kate. "What about the parade? And don't act like you didn't know what was going on in the city all afternoon. You're not that naive to fall off the radar like that."

A silence passed between them. Kate's focus was on the plaster job of a wall across the room and Sophie's was on Kate. The stubbornness of the moment could have lasted a decade.

"I never planned on going to the parade," Kate admitted finally.

"Then why would yo-" Sophie began, already knowing as much before Kate had uttered a word.

"Because I found out you were with him."

That part wasn't exactly a lie, and Kate clung to it like a lifeline; even if she hadn't been suited up in bat attire, the moment she heard Melvin say he'd run into Sophie, there was a million in one chance Kate would have actually joined him. This small thread of truth was all she needed for Sophie to back down, and Kate watched the combative fire in Sophie's eyes dim as Kate's words registered.

"I… Kate, I wouldn't have - he - I wouldn't have let that-"

"It's fine. I… you were with Renee last night, and figured it'd be best to just stay away."

"Kate, about… about earlier when I called-"

"It's fine."

"It was… I don't want you out of my life-"

"Sophie, it's fine," Kate interrupted again, not interested in broaching the subject. "The point is, I shouldn't have lied to him."

"Who?"

"Melvin?" Kate stared back, distracted by Sophie's scowl of confusion.

"Right, Melvin. But honestly Kate, it's not just that… I…" Sophie trailed off, her face contorting into another round of confusion.

"Yes?" Kate asked, waiting for the rest of Sophie's monologue.

"I… can I sit down?" Sophie asked, searching for her train of thought.

Kate stared back at Sophie in momentary confusion before understanding. She paused, trying to find a way to broach the conversation without suggesting too much. After a moment she decided to take a gamble:

"Your head - did you say you got it checked out?"

"My head?" Sophie asked, thrown by the pivot as she glanced for the nearest chair.

"You said you hit your head," Kate continued bluffing, taking steps toward Sophie.

"No I didn't," Sophie challenged, scanning her memory of the conversation. "How d-"

"When I asked if you and Melvin were ok-"

"What? No I didn't-"

"Soph, stop," Kate cut in, a look of genuine concern on her face. Sophie stared back at Kate, a fuzzy memory coming back to her.

_Soph, stop._

Before Sophie could react Kate had closed the distance between them. Her hands reached up, cupping Sophie's face between them as she stared directly into her eyes.

"Close your eyes," she said, reaching into her back pocket for her phone.

"What?"

"I don't have a proper flashlight," Kate muttered, turning on her phone's. "Close your eyes."

Sophie complied and waited a moment before opening them. Kate stared intently, gliding the dim light over Sophie's eyes waiting for her pupils to adjust, already knowing what to expect.

"Why didn't you get checked out?" Kate asked after a second. "You shouldn't be… Soph, how long ago did it happen?"

"It's fine," Sophie said stubbornly before stepping back from Kate. "I'll sleep it off."

"You aren't supposed to just sleep off a concussion," Kate pointed out. "You're also soaking wet and freezing," Kate remarked, realizing they'd both been standing in wet clothes for their entire exchange.

"Yea, well, I thought you were dead, so..." Sophie shot back, as she walked toward the door.

The honesty of Sophie's words emphasized her priorities, and Kate found herself frustrated that even in her absence, she'd somehow put Sophie in danger.

"You aren't leaving."

"What?" Sophie asked in genuine surprise, her hand raised toward the door handle.

"If you have a concussion, I'm not leaving you alone," Kate reasoned, her frustration with herself outweighing logic. Her plans for the evening were taking a drastic pivot. The thought of a hot shower before collapsing into her soft, blanket-filled bed was now out of the picture; now she had Sophie and her concussed stubbornness to contend with, not to mention returning to her discussion with Luke about how to tackle this fear toxin problem.

"You're overreacting," Sophie replied dismissively.

"I'm serious. If something happens to you-"

"Then what? If something happens, then what Kate?" Sophie interrupted, her voice cutting through Kate's. It was a recurring argument, and they both already knew their lines all too well.

A stare down was met with Kate letting out a sigh of defeat.

"I'm just worried, ok? There's literally no harm in staying. It's late, you're soaking wet, and you're walking around with a half-diagnosed concussion."

Sophie's eyes were narrowed in frustration, knowing Kate's words would work like they always did.

"Besides, the shower is finally hooked up, and I can see you shaking from here," Kate continued.

Sophie scowled in disapproval. "Even if I do-"

"Look, we can spend the next ten minutes arguing while you catch pneumonia, or you can accept this. I'm not letting you leave," Kate finished.

* * *

"She's in the shower; I've probably got ten minutes."

"Oh… _really_?" Luke asked, his surprise uncontained and his tone suggestive.

"Not now, Luke. You have nine minutes."

"Fine, right. I think I can source the ingredients for this antidote Bruce has scratched together, but I don't have a grasp on what exactly these things are. If you can talk to Mary-"

"I'll take care of that. If she agrees, we need like… we need a plan. Where are we doing it? Is she supposed to Hermione Granger this in the clinic's bathroom? What's the scale? Why are you laughing?"

Luke's laughter echoed through the phone's speaker. "Did you just reference Chamber of Secrets?"

"...yes…"

"I didn't know you could read."

* * *

"How was it?"

"Nice. Warm," Sophie replied stoically, settling into a chair at the table as she watched Kate busy herself in the 'kitchen'. It's current state included only a fridge, a hot plate, and a moveable island, but Sophie could see from the tape on the ground where the future counters would go.

"Sandwich?" Kate offered, scrapping the edges of a mustard jar with a knife.

Sophie hesitated, considering a 'no' out of stubbornness before realizing she was starving. "Sure," she replied. "But no m-"

"No mustard; I know."

A silence fell between them as Kate pulled out another plate and began layering fixings onto bread and Sophie continued surveying the space, noting where small upgrades were occurring. Her eyes settled on the corner where the duffle bag had been discarded twenty minutes earlier and noted it now sat empty. She studied the rest of the flat with a critical eye, trying to divulge where the duffle's new home was.

"Pickle?" Kate asked, pulling Sophie's attention back.

"Always."

Kate walked over with both plates, sliding one over to Sophie before sitting down opposite her.

"You can take the bed," Kate said before biting into hers.

"The couch is fine," Sophie countered.

"I need to do some work," Kate reasoned. "Take the bed."

Sophie watched Kate for a moment, a mountain of questions she'd been wanting to ask on the tip of her tongue.

"That's uncommon for you."

"Sorry?" Kate asked.

"Working on a Saturday night. No big clubs tonight?"

"Oh, I mean… yea, not typically… it's just - since you'll be here, might as well make use of the time," Kate explained.

"I see," Sophie said, not believing her.

"Bathroom tile doesn't pick itself, right?" Kate joked, looking for a segue away from the pointed conversation.

"Did you go see Tommy Elliot after he got out of Arkham?"

"What?" Kate stared back in surprise, wishing the conversation could be about something mundane.

"The other day, when I had you on the phone. Were you meeting him?"

"Yea," Kate said, taking another bite of sandwich, trying to appear casual.

"Why? And… and how did you find out he was released?"

Kate paused, chewing through her latest bite before responding. "He reached out. He'd heard I was entering real estate and wanted to chat about it."

"And that's it?" Sophie asked, not quite ready to believe Kate's word. It was an uncommon feeling to be suspicious of Kate, but Sophie was starting to find reason after reason to question her.

"Yea. Turned out to be a real waste of time, too. Kept going on and on about his legacy. They really shouldn't have let him out of Arkham," Kate remarked casually.

"Right," Sophie said, and Kate had a sinking suspicion her act wasn't working on her. She waited for a follow-up question, and when one didn't come, Kate took the opportunity to pivot the conversation again:

"So any idea what caused the balloon to burst?"

"No," Sophie said, responding with the same cryptic tone as Kate.

"Maybe it was just old," Kate offered, watching Sophie closely. "Who knows what that material was made from. Three years of off-gassing in storage could be the culprit," she continued, weighing her ignorance carefully.

"It wasn't an accident," Sophie replied simply.

"How do you know?" Kate asked casually.

"Because I do," Sophie said, giving nothing away.

"Any suspects?" Kate continued, trying to penetrate the defensive wall she could see Sophie building.

"I'm not really ok sharing case details with you."

Kate raised her hands in defeat. "Sure, yea, I get it. I relinquished that clearance yesterday," she offered. She watched Sophie with growing concern, wondering where the desire for secrecy had suddenly come from. A part of her worried it was tied to Renee, but she couldn't tell. When Sophie didn't reply, Kate stared down at her half-finished sandwich, fishing for another pivot.

"What do you think about mauve?"

"Mauve?" Sophie asked, confused by the question.

"Yea."

Sophie broke her gaze from Kate and glanced around the flat in thought. "It's a good color," she said finally. "Where were you thinking?"

Kate gave a small smile. "Luke thinks the kitchen would be good, but-"

"The kitchen?" Sophie interrupted, her nose scrunched in rejection. "No, not a chance."

"That's what I said. But I think we found a compromise with the bathroom."

Sophie nodded in thought. "Yea… that would be nice," she admitted. "I didn't realize you two were that serious."

"Who?"

"You and Luke. Picking out paint together," Sophie half-joked.

"Oh… well, I mean, this is basically the headquarters, so he's here a lot and has opinions about things, so I figured it could hurt to have hi-"

"Kate."

"Hm?"

"I'm messing with you," Sophie interrupted with an amused look.

Kate grinned awkwardly and gave a small laugh. "Right, right, obv-obviously."

* * *

Sophie climbed under the blankets as she scanned through the events of the day. Her head was pounding with a headache, and the thought of sleep was taking priority over anything else. She glanced at her phone, a panic suddenly hitting her: she hadn't messaged Melvin. She quickly snatched it up:

S: _hey, I found her_

M: _dead or alive?_

S: _alive_

M: _phew. I assumed as much, but figured confirming couldn't hurt. was she at the parade?_

Sophie stared at the screen, the glow of it contrasted against the dark around the bed. She looked up to see Kate hunched over a laptop, reading a nameless file. _Was she at the parade?_

M: _two minutes from airplane mode_

S: _she wasn't - have a safe flight, yea? give me a shout out next time you're in town._

M: _you're at the top of my list. hopefully it'll be sooner than later ;)_

* * *

"Hey, Soph."

The familiar voice pulled Sophie from her sleep. She could feel her entire body fighting to drift back to sleep: her head pulsed fully, and her limbs felt heavy.

"Soph? Soph, you need to wake up."

The voice wasn't commanding or frantic. It was soft and full of concern. Sophie felt herself sigh into the comfort of the soft pillow and blankets before feeling a hand on her arm. It was only then that she opened her eyes, taking in the dim lighting and the silhouette sitting over her. The hand left Sophie's arm and landed on the mattress next to her, and with its absence came a small wave of sadness.

"Hey," Kate's voice smiled at seeing Sophie blinking beneath her.

"Hey," Sophie said back, a smile creeping over her lips. "How long?"

"Not very - an hour. Just wanted to check you're ok."

"I'm good."

"Ok," Kate replied, her relief apparent.

Sophie stared back, recalling all the other instances a worried Kate had dropped everything for Sophie. It was something she both hated and hated to admit she loved. On one hand, Sophie saw herself as capable and independent - anytime Kate tried to intervene felt like that part of her was being directly undermined. On the other hand, these small moments brought out the softness in Kate, and Sophie hated to admit it, but they were some of her favorite memories.

"Can you, I don't know… name five facts," Kate quizzed, not totally ready to accept Sophie was well enough.

"I'm in your flat," Sophie said, scowling at herself for giving into Kate's protectiveness.

"Not wrong."

"It's Saturday."

"On a role…"

"You gave me the small pickle."

"That feels like an opinion, but I'll give it to you," Kate said, nodding at Sophie's progress with slight amusement.

"Your middle name is Rebecca"

"Regrettably…"

"And you're a pilot."

"Damn, you were so close," Kate replied, shaking her head in mock disappointment.

Sophie stared back at Kate's grin, the words she wanted to say left sitting on her tongue.

"Sophie Moore's first B."

"Good thing I'm not here on scholarship," Sophie joked back. She watched Kate's hand lift toward Sophie before pausing midair, as though reality caught up with her instinct. Kate awkwardly shifted her hand back to her side before nodding to conclude their chat.

"I'll consider it a pass and let you get back to sleep. If you need anything-"

"You'll be ten feet away," Sophie interrupted with a knowing tone.

"Get some rest," Kate replied, shaking her head slightly at Sophie's tenacity for staying on top of things. "I'll work on that pilot's license while you sleep."

"I expect full captain," Sophie said, letting her eyes fall closed as she nestled into the pillow, taking in the comfort of the familiar smell.

* * *

"Hey, Sophie," came a soft whisper. Sophie felt herself smirk at being awoken again, noting the slight taper in the mattress from a body lying next to her.

"You get that license?" she muttered, her eyes staying closed against the pillow.

"The what?"

Sophie's eyes burst open in confusion at the voice. She stared over at the familiar but unexpected face of Renee.

"Oh, uh, nothing. Must have been a dream," Sophie replied, suddenly feeling wide awake. She glanced past Renee to get her bearings and realized the unfamiliarity was warranted: she was still in Kate's flat, but Kate had magically morphed into Renee.

"How are you feeling?"

Sophie refocused on Renee, her confusion evident. "Wh… I-I'm feeling fine."

"Kate called," Renee admitted, seeing the disoriented expression on Sophie's face. "She said you'd gone looking for her."

"Melvin… He-he had to catch his flight," Sophie explained, feeling like all of it had happened weeks ago. "And-"

"And he couldn't get a hold of her and thought she was dead in an alley. Yea, Kate already explained," Renee waved off casually, but her tone suggested it was anything but. "We both agreed you and Melvin overreacted-"

"I-"

"But I suppose I'd expect nothing less," Renee continued.

Sophie let out a small sigh of relief at hearing this.

"I'm sorry I didn't-"

"Sophie, it's fine," Renee replied with a surprising casualness.

Sophie let out a breath she'd been holding in. Renee's tone suggested she wasn't upset Sophie had run off to find Kate.

"So a concussion, huh? Kate said I'm supposed to test you-"

"She's overreacting-"

"-so I figured now would be a good time for you to tell me about what happened between you two."

* * *

Mary was rushing from bed to bed as she tried calming down the onslaught of patients that had poured through her doors hours before. Exhausted and surviving off lukewarm coffee and muffins, she was on the verge of collapsing when a silence sweeping through the clinic made her look up to find Batwoman in the doorway.

"Mary," she greeted her.

"Batwoman," Mary replied curtly.

"I was wondering if you had a second to-"

"Does it look like I have a second?"

Batwoman hesitated, knowing her presence under the circumstance wasn't exactly bringing enthusiasm to the room.

"I just… I... The stuff that came out of the balloon," Batwoman began quickly and quietly, noting she was treading on Mary's patience with every passing second.

"The hallucinogen," Mary said, moving to the next bed with the next patient. She put on her stethoscope and, with practiced hands, applied it to the nameless patient.

"Sort of. It's a drug, yes."

"Inhale," Mary said, pausing to listen closely over the buzz of the clinic.

"Do you-"

"Again."

Batwoman took her own slow breath as she watched Mary ignore her. She knew Mary's heart was in the right place, but right now Kate needed her full attention.

"Do you remember the Scarecrow?" Batwoman rushed as Mary removed the bell and wrapped the tubing back around her neck.

"Only stories. My mom used to scare me with them before bed, but he was before my time," Mary said. "Why?"

"He used this chemical that induces fear-"

"Fear toxin?" Mary asked, her interest suddenly piqued.

"That's one name for it-"

"It's real?" Mary asked in slight amazement. "I always thought… I've just never seen it. Is that… do you think…?"

"Can we talk in private?" Batwoman asked, hoping her timing was right and Mary would agree.

Mary hesitated only a moment as she glanced around the clinic performing a cost benefit in her head. No one was in critical condition; they had already been treated.

"In there," she said, nodding toward the back room.

Once the door had clicked shut, Batwoman broke into an explanation.

"I think there's a good chance what we saw today is fear toxin. After Scarecrow was locked away in Arkham, there was a concerted effort to wipe away any evidence of the fear toxin from literature."

"But then how do I know about it?"

"Because it wasn't always known as fear toxin. It was also named after the flower that produces it: blue poppy."

"Blue poppy?"

"It can be inhaled or injected. High doses can be lethal without intervention."

"Intervention? You mean there's a cure?"

"Sort of…"

"Meaning…"

"Meaning it's not exactly FDA-approved. Batman developed it years ago."

"Is this where you tell me you have gallons of it stockpiled in some underground cave?"

"Not exactly. But I do have the recipe," Batwoman said, pulling out a piece of paper. She handed it over to Mary who quickly skimmed it.

"Chlorpromazine… haloperidol… sulpiride? This is basically a combination of different antipsychotics with electrolytes and steroids. What proof do you have that this even works?"

"Batman's journals."

"I imagine that's not accredited by a panel of scientists…"

"Like I said… it's not exactly FDA-approved," Batwoman replied. "But I was hoping…"

"I'm not a chemist," Mary said in protest. "And even if I was, where would I get the supplies?"

"I'll handle that," Batwoman replied quietly, glancing toward the door nervously. "Look, I know it's a big ask-"

"This beats 'big' by about ten levels," Mary interrupted. "Besides, I don't even trust this recipe. Sulpiride? That's been proven ineffective in recent studies for having no impact on 5-HT2 receptors; using this would be a shot in the dark at best."

"I don't understand any of what you just said, but right now I don't have a back-up plan. If this happens again-"

"You think it'll happen again?" Mary asked. "By who? Who's doing this if not the Scarecrow?"

Batwoman sighed, unsure how much information to divulge.

"If you want me to make this stuff, I deserve to know," Mary continued, and she hoped it was clear she meant about everything.

"I think it's coming out of Arkham."

"What? Like, a patient?"

"No. A doctor. Dr. Randolph Butler."

"A doctor?" Mary repeated. "Dr… Hang on; I know that name. He's written a ton of papers. He - he's even come to speak in seminars at school. Dr. Butler is one of the most respected voices in the reintegration of psychiatric patients. He chose Arkham over Johns Hopkins years ago because he said he thought he could make more of a difference in Gotham."

"That may be, but he's been performing some unsavory releases from Arkham lately. And we think there's a link," Batwoman replied.

"We?"

"I… I think," Batwoman stuttered quickly.

"Don't tell me mystery man isn't in on this, too," Mary said, her eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"The point is, w-I'm worried about another attack. The rain softened the blow today, but we might not be so lucky next time. People got hurt today - imagine a worse attack, Mary."

Mary mulled over Batwoman's words, her concern less about getting caught and the resulting ramifications and more about messing up the antidote and causing more chaos.

"I need to be able to test it. I don't doubt Batman, but times have changed. There's new technology; his recipe might be fine, but it's antiquated and could use an upgrade."

"And I thought you said you weren't a chemist..." Batwoman smirked.

* * *

"Hey, Soph?"

The whisper pulled Sophie from her latest round of sleep. She mumbled ineffectively that she was fine before she felt a hand on her.

"Soph?"

She finally opened her eyes to see Kate's glowing back at her. It took a moment to orient her eyes to recognize the rest of her silhouette was crouched at mattress level next to Sophie.

"You look different," Sophie whispered.

"She's behind you," Kate said.

"Mmm. You get that pilot's license yet?"

"Still working on it," Kate grinned back. "How do you feel?"

"Where were you?" Sophie asked, ignoring Kate's question.

"I had to run an errand," Kate explained cryptically.

"In the middle of the night?" Sophie asked, not backing down.

"Yes," Kate said with a small sigh.

"What errand?"

"Can we not do this right now?"

"Were you at the parade today?"

Kate paused, "Soph, I thought we talked about this. I was-"

"I know what you said," Sophie replied.

"Then why the question?" Kate asked, her voice soft. She watched Sophie's brow scrunch as she formulated her response. "Look," Kate began, jumping into Sophie's thoughts. "I just wanted to check in and make sure… I don't know when Renee last-"

"I'm sorry," Sophie interrupted, her voice sincere. There was still a lingering suspicion to her tone, but for the moment, Sophie wasn't acting on it. "I don't know… I don't mean to… I'm being an ass, and you're trying to help. I just… thank you."

A small noise from the other side of the bed made Kate glance over Sophie to check the lulling form of Renee.

"She's a deep sleeper."

"I can see that," Kate remarked. "I'll let you get some rest. Glad you're ok."

"See you in an hour?" Sophie whispered hopefully.

"I think you're good, Soph. Even with a concussion you're as sharp as always," Kate said, giving Sophie's arm a light squeeze before standing up.

Sophie considered arguing to the contrary, wishing for another interruption from her sleep by Kate but knew better than to suggest such.

"But where are you-?"

"Couch," Kate replied simply.

"But-"

"Soph."

"Kate."

A brief silence passed between them.

"Get some rest. I'll see you in the morning," Kate said lightly.

* * *

K: _hang on, the internet just went out_

L: _again?_

K: _checking it now_

Kate tossed her phone on the table in frustration as she imagined Luke's chastising voice in her head. The internet had been gerryrigged together weeks earlier and regularly went out. They had discovered one of the cables was frayed and unreliable, and instead of replacing it, Kate had tried fixing it first with electric tape and then with a combination of coat hanger and bubble wrap. That it had gone out again was undoubtedly a result of that, and she was secretly happy Luke wasn't there to troll her for her failed quick-fix again.

She slowly lifted herself from the chair, feeling every impact from the day's events screaming for her to stop as she made her way to a rope of cables bundled together on the floor. She scanned for the familiar blue cable, seeing that the bubble wrap had slipped out of position.

"Does that hurt?"

Kate jumped up in surprise, turning to find Renee propped up in a chair.

"Sorry?"

"Your back; shoulder blade. It looks pretty bad," Renee continued as Kate turned to face her, hiding the bruises in the process.

"It's fine," Kate replied coolly as she glanced around for a sweatshirt to throw on.

"How'd you do it?"

"Saved a baby from a shark," Kate replied dryly.

"I don't believe it. There aren't any teeth marks."

Kate's eyes narrowed in annoyance at Renee's casual nosiness. "Had a small motorcycle incident."

"Small? That looks like some serious damage."

"Serious would've been broken bones."

"I didn't know you rode."

"Since high school."

"I'm impressed. I assumed you were chauffeured everywhere."

"But then I'd be riding in the sidecar," Kate replied easily. She watched Renee's face furrow into a scowl of confusion before relaxing in realization.

"Oh, I get it-"

"Because my-"

"- your chauffeur would be driving the motorcycle."

"Right."

"Hilarious," Renee admitted without laughter.

"Did you need something or…?"

"Sophie told me about you two."

Kate stared at Renee unsure how to respond. Her tone wasn't accusatory, and Kate wasn't sure what Renee's intentions were. Hadn't Renee found out about them a week earlier?

"You two were dealt a bad hand," Renee continued with boundless candor. "It's sweet you still care about her after what happened."

"I… I'm not sure I know wh-"

"Kate, you don't need to pretend. You're actually pretty bad at it. I also can't think of anyone else who would call their ex's current girlfriend to come over to their apartment to sleep in their bed to keep an eye on said ex," Renee continued, her hands distracted with the bowl of fruit in front of her. "This place is so weird: you don't have walls, but you've got a fancy bowl for fruit. Is this a blood orange or a grapefruit?"

"Uh - not sure…"

"It's almost like something out of a story. I'm glad you at least have the bathroom done. It could use a splash of color though."

"I don't… it's a work in progress."

"Do you still love her?" Renee asked, not looking up from the stack of citrus she was busying herself with, shifting the other fruit aside.

"Hey, don't bruise the bananas."

"Classic evasive tactic."

"No, I'm serious. They're the worst bruised."

"Do you two ever get tired of deflecting?"

"Sorry?"

"You heard me," Renee said, finally looking up from the pyramid of citrus she'd made. "Because I asked Sophie the same over a week ago and she couldn't answer me then either."

"I can't speak for Sophie," Kate said, feeling her mouth dry at the confrontation.

"Still redirecting," Renee said before grabbing a bruised banana and peeling it. "Look, I'm not trying to start anything. I just don't want to get stuck in the middle of something that's so obviously going to happen."

"Renee, you've got the wrong idea. Soph and I are just friends."

"I call bullshit," Renee said through a mouthful of banana. " _Respectfully_ , of course."

Kate stared across the table at Renee, wanting more than anything to send her back to bed.

"Kate, think about it from my perspective. I like Sophie. She's great. You're also great as far as I can tell. You drink a little too much-"

"Says two-for-one margarita over there," Kate shot back. It was a pointless jab; Kate knew Renee wasn't going to waiver in this train of thought.

"-but don't we all over-indulge every once in a while?" Renee continued unimpeded by Kate's words. "And while being with Sophie is great, I don't want to be hurt. You get me? Because that shit sucks; I've been there, and based on what Sophie said earlier, you have, too."

Kate remained silent, feeling more vulnerable in the last three minutes with Renee than she had all day fighting off the fear toxin.

"So," Renee continued, "do you still love her?"


	23. Chapter 23

_**Three Dead after Gotham Day Parade Debacle** _

_Just days after the domestic terrorist act struck the heart of Gotham, a third victim has been named. Jerry Anderson's body was found by a jogger who discovered it on an early-morning jog through Robinson Park. GCPD quickly cleared the site, and next of kin was contacted. With the discovery of Anderson's body, the number of remaining missing has been reduced to four._

_Separately, in a press conference last night, the GCPD announced it is still nowhere near naming a suspect. When asked if the GCPD would request the assistance of the Crows Task Force, they advised there was no intention at this time. The Crows have recently undergone a city-mandated audit for its recent use of excessive force; however, it was determined they acted well within their authority as a private security firm, much to the surprise of the public. While not uncommon for the GCPD to contract work out to the Crows, the lack of enrolling them into this investigation may speak to the deteriorating relationship between the two entities. When contacted for questioning, the Crows declined to comment._

_At the same press conference, it was confirmed that the attack was executed through the assistance of the defunct Emergency Speaker system, but no announcement has been made to address how the speakers were rerouted for Saturday's grizzly events._

_A significant factor that remains unanswered is how and why the attack appeared directed at Batwoman. Speculation over Batwoman's role in the destruction has begun polarizing the city. In a recent poll taken before Saturday's attack, Batwoman received a higher approval rating than Mayor Aubrey James with 68% to his 23%. James, who has just begun his latest term, has notoriously remained unpopular; however, in a separate poll following Saturday's attack sees the public beginning to question Batwoman's significance. While some are standing by the red-cowled figure, many are beginning to call for the vigilante to hang up her cape._

_While it is unclear who is behind the attacks, one thing is very clear: Innocent lives were snuffed out because of some crook's vendetta against the City's symbol of hope, and for that Batwoman has blood on her hands._

* * *

"You need to rest."

"What I _need_ is answers, Luke," Kate shot back. "Tracking Tommy has gotten us nowhere. We might as well be on a beach somewhere drinking Mai Tais."

"I didn't realize that was an option," Luke muttered lowly.

"What?" Kate asked, her scowl furrowing deeper on her brow.

"Nothing," he replied quickly, sensing Kate's humor had been shelved along with her plans for sleep. "We know Tommy was involved in stealing the batsuit technology. It seemed reasonable to think he'd be involved in the attack at the parade."

They had been arguing for nearly an hour about, and the talking points were beginning to repeat themselves. It was the same argument they'd had every night since the parade, and Luke was struggling to give Kate the answers she wanted. They were both operating off little sleep, and with that came an irritability and inefficiency in their work. Kate was getting messy in the field, and with that came injuries that slowed her down. Luke was trying to balance the day-to-day operations with the building renovations and Kate's insistence that new leads be determined every night. For all of their efforts, they were no closer to learning who was behind the attacks, and they were beginning to fall down a slippery path of constant frustration with each other.

"Kate just…" he sighed, realizing he was about to repeat himself again. "You need to rest."

"I'll rest when this is done," she said, ignoring Luke's pleas for sensibility as she replaced the cowl and walked out of the batcave. "Let me know if you find anything useful."

* * *

_**Frosty Freezies Factory Fire** _

_In a second domestic attack in as many weeks, Frosty Freezies Factory has been destroyed. The factory's storied history was brought to an end Monday night when two vans of armoured gunmen charged into the factory followed by a stand-off between the GCPD before it was set ablaze._

_Security footage shows the gunmen arrived and opened fire on the factory security around 7 pm; two guards were injured in the process. Fortunately the late hours meant there were no workers in the factory, and the building sat vacant. Shortly after, GCPD was alerted and arrived at the factory by 7:30 pm. In that time, the gunmen established a perimeter around the building and a standoff remained for another two hours. The standoff ended when an attempt by the GCPD to storm the building failed. Four officers were injured in the raid, and no gunmen were apprehended in the process._

_Rumors were raised shortly after the event that Batwoman was sighted at the stand-off, but there is no visual or audio evidence to support this. If Batwoman was at the site, it is clear her involvement did little to minimize the damages._

_The original Frosty Freezies had closed its doors for business nearly six years ago due to recession. A recent influx of money by the city and private donors allowed the factory to reopen in early March. To mark the opening, a special Bat-shaped frosty freeze had been developed as part of the roll out._

_It is unclear whether the company's association with Batwoman played into the factory's destruction or whether this latest act of terror is associated with the parade tragedy from two weeks ago. As a precautionary measure, Mayor James encouraged all businesses to distance themselves from Batwoman until the culprits can be detained._

_When in operation, the factory made frosty freezies of many flavors, including lemon-lime, orange, raspberry, pineapple, grape, mint, and strawberry._

* * *

"It's definitely the suit."

"Shit," Kate cursed, leaning back into her chair. She pressed her fingers to the bridge of her nose as she processed the news. She thought they'd have more time before it appeared on Gotham's streets, but Luke's confirmation made her worst fears real. The night before she'd encountered a team of masked, armored men at the old Frosty Freezies Factory. She had slowly been making her way around the site, taking out each figure with the assistance of shadows and Luke's guidance. After clearing the south and east edge, she made her way toward the north when gunshots rang out. She watched as the remaining gunmen flocked toward the entrance and challenged the incoming GCPD without fear. More than once she was sure a bullet from GCPD's side had struck a masked figure only to see them continue, unphased by the strike.

"How many were there again?" Kate asked.

"I picked up fifteen, easy," Luke replied. "Do you think they were all wearing it?"

"No idea. I mean, they all had vests on. I just assumed they were standard grade bullet-proof vests."

"These definitely look bulkier than your suit."

"So it hasn't been optimized?"

Luke shrugged. "I'd have to see it to know. Even then, I'm not an expert on this."

"I'll go back tonight and see if I can dig up anything," Kate said, trying to hide her worry from Luke.

* * *

_**Fear Toxin Confirmed in Latest Crime String** _

_Late last night the GCPD Commissioner confirmed that Fear Toxin was the cause of the Gotham Day Parade catastrophe during what has become nightly press conferences in the GCPD's latest effort to temper fears of the sweeping increase in crime around the city. During the press conference it was also confirmed that at least eight separate instances of Fear Toxin have been involved in related crimes over the last two weeks. The eight separate instances were categorized as petty crime, and the GCPD was unable to comment on what, if any, commonalities exist between these crimes beyond the use of Fear Toxin, but they're assumed related._

_When pressed to provide more details about the crimes and related suspects, none were given. Instead, shortly after the conference ended, a statement was published by Mayor James addressing the city's growing concerns:_

The GCPD is working tirelessly to end this criminal spree, and I want to assure you we are doing everything in our power to return the City to the safe and welcoming streets we have spent the last three years tirelessly building. It is without question that our work is being undermined by a small few, and it will be stopped. As an added measure, we have brought the Crows Task Force into the folds to assist in bringing peace to Gotham. They are an asset not many cities can tout, and it is our privilege to stand side by side on the front lines with them.

_Authorities are refusing to comment on Batwoman's involvement in the crimes. It was speculated she was involved in breaking up three instances of Fear Toxin in the last week. While no formal statement has been made about this, a GCPD detective who requested anonymity for fear of retaliation confirmed that Batwoman was present at two locations. Recent accusations by Mayor James have put the blame squarely on Batwoman's shoulders for the uprise in crime._

_When asked about this, another unnamed GCPD officer advised that internal policy is to distance themselves from Batwoman. Another officer went so far as to state the department's unofficial policy is to label Batwoman a vigilante and, while not a priority, they have been given authority to bring her in if given the chance._

* * *

"Luke, I think we need to consider-"

"No, Kate. We don't even know how extensive it is. If we can track it we might be able to stop it from growing."

"They're shooting people, Luke."

"I kn-"

"No one can take them down. The GCPD and Crows are target practice out there."

"Yes, I've read the articles, but if y-"

"If you had you'd realize we're losing. We have nothing, Luke. _They_ have nothing."

Luke rubbed his eyes, hoping a solution would magically appear afterward. He knew Kate was right: they'd been at it tirelessly for three weeks and kept coming up short. Now that this new gang of masked goons were in town, Kate was spending more time tracking them than making progress on where or how the armour was being supplied. In all of that, nine officers and Crows had been wounded in the line of duty, and emergency rooms were overwhelmed with victims of the fear toxin. Everything was stacked against them, and Luke was struggling to see any other path forward.

"Give it a week. If… if after a week-"

"We can't solve this in a week-"

" _If_ after a week we can't track it, we can _discuss_ the rail gun."

"No, Luke. If after a week we can't track it, we're _giving_ them the rail gun."

"Kate-"

"It needs to happen while Sophie is still Lead Crow. If we wait any longer it'll go straight to Jacob."

* * *

_**Crackdown Brings Curfew to Boroughs** _

_A 6pm curfew has been issued for parts of Gotham following a week of increased destruction. Included are Burnley, Otisburg, and The Hill with speculation that additional boroughs will be added before week's end. In what appears to be guerilla-style tactics, timed bombs of Fear Toxin are being placed around the city to impart mass terror onto people. Hospitals are struggling with how to treat those infected beyond temporary containment. Currently there appears to be no reliable treatment, and unofficial numbers have suggested as many as ten people have died as a result of ingesting the mysterious chemical._

_The official policy of the GCPD and Crows is to temporarily restrain anyone infected with Fear Toxin from injuring themselves or others; however, the execution has been less than savory. Injuries from attempted containment to victims of Fear Toxin have ranged from cuts to broken bones. The GCPD Commissioner has stressed officers are executing with safety in mind._

_Another variable at play is the follow-up attacks coming out of the Fear Toxin bombs. GCPD officers and Crows are being peppered by armed gunmen as they try sweeping areas for infected civilians. At least a dozen have been placed on temporary leave due to injury, and a wave of early retirement by GCPD officers is quickly undermining efforts to clamp down on the terror._

_"We haven't seen this [level of retirement] since Batman left," said one officer who wished to remain anonymous. He was a rookie when Batman disappeared and remembers the deterioration in police force as a wave of crime surged through the city for the year that followed._

_Crime skyrocketed by over thirty percent in the year following Batman's vanishing. Since then, crime has slowly retreated to a constant fifteen percent overage from Batman-era numbers. In the months since Batwoman has come onto the scene, that number had dropped to near-Batman-era levels; however, this latest string of attacks has brought the crime rate to and above three years ago._

_"People are getting spooked," said the same officer. "And what no one is talking about is the crimes happening out of that. Petty crime is up. Storefronts are getting looted. No one's talking about that stuff."_

* * *

"What is this?"

"It will help."

"But what is it?"

"It's the rail gun technology."

"What?"

"It's the technology Tommy Elliot stole from-"

"What? No, I know what it is. Why are you giving it to me?"

"Your task force is getting obliterated."

"I'm not taking this-"

"Sophie, take it. Lives are depending on it."

"And my taking it jeopardizes your life. No, I'm not taking it."

"Then I'll give it to Jacob."

"What? No… w-why are you doing this?"

"Because people are getting hurt, and I can't stop this alone."

"If this ends up in the wrong hands…"

"It will."

"Then why take that risk?"

"Because this isn't about me."

Sophie stared at the USB in Batwoman's outstretched hands. The last two weeks had struck fear not just in the city but also in the task force. Voluntary leave was becoming a norm, and Sophie saw the small stick of technology as a path forward. She glanced up at the shadowed features of Batwoman's face, studying the resolve and intensity.

"You may think this isn't about you, but when the city looks up at the sky, they aren't looking for the Crows or the GCPD. They're looking for you-"

"Sophie-"

"-and taking this from you would put the city at risk of losing that."

"You should read the papers more," Batwoman answered easily.

"And you put too much weight in what reporters say," Sophie shot back. She watched Batwoman sigh in response. It was a sigh of resignation and exhaustion, and Sophie felt another tug of familiarity.

"Even still, it will lose a lot more if you don't take this."

"And do what with it? Get it up and running just in time for Jacob Kane to decide how it's used?"

"Use it as leverage."

"What?"

"Keep Jacob out. Leverage this with the board to keep Lead Crow."

"I'm not interested in politics."

"You think Jacob would hesitate for a second at the same offer?"

Sophie paused, knowing Jacob would certainly use it to his advantage.

"If you really want to see change in Gotham, you'll play ball, Sophie," Batwoman continued, extending her gloved hand a final time toward Sophie.

Sophie scowled in frustration as she tried looking into Batwoman's eyes, realizing the evening light was not cast in her favor. She opened her mouth to argue before being cut off again,

"Sophie, take it. Use it."

* * *

_**Two Months of Fear Toxin** _

_Cases of Fear Toxin have now reached their eighth week, and the GCPD and Crows are still nowhere near finding the source of the chemical. Ports, rail, and roadways coming into the city have been blockaded, and checkpoints are required at all inlets._

_Mandatory curfew for the entire city of Gotham has made little impact on the destruction and attacks which are now occurring with greater frequency and in the middle of the day. Efforts to retrieve victims from Fear Toxin attacks have deteriorated as post-bomb violence continues. The GCPD and Crows are undergoing increased patrols of the city; however, these efforts are also being challenged by injuries and officers quitting their positions for fear of attack._

_"We are actively working to improve the situation. Our teams are making regular tours of the city, and we are working to better-equip them for this challenge," the Lead Crow said in a recent call._

_For the first time, it was revealed that one of the gunmen has finally been captured. This is the first break in the case which has riddled both organizations for weeks. The individual was captured by the Crows in a recent attack, but the individual's identity has not yet been revealed._

_As for Batwoman, public sentiment remains at odds with the bat symbol. In a recent interview, Mayor James did not hide his criticism of Batwoman's perceived role in the recent chaos, stating "Her arrival has done nothing but bring in new crime."_

_In a similar vein, the Crows Task Force founder, Jacob Kane, has been a vocal opponent of Batwoman's for months, and recent events have only exacerbated these views. "Our men and women are putting their lives on the line to undo a mess that Batwoman created. First Batman, now this? We don't need another vigilante bringing up crime rates."_

_While recent crime rates have increased, Major James and Mr. Kane's speculation that crime rates increased under the watch of Batman and Batwoman are not entirely accurate. Under Batman, crime rates had been at an all-time low. It was only after Batman disappeared that a spike occurred. Similarly, Batwoman's reign has seen a decrease in crime with the exception of the last two months. This has not fallen on deaf ears, as the citizens of Gotham struggle to decide Batwoman's relevance while grappling with the very real fear living on their streets._

* * *

"Hey, it's me again. Call me when you get this. I need to ta-"

"I think I found something," Luke interrupted.

"You've finally figured out how to store lime slices in the utility belt?" Kate asked sarcastically as she casually tapped her phone's keypad to delete the latest voicemail from Sophie.

"Wh-? No. I… honestly, Kate."

"I'm just saying, Batsuit 2.0 isn't going to make itself."

Luke shook his head in a combination of annoyance and exasperation.

"Greenhouses."

"The cave is not set up for that, Luke," Kate dismissed, leaning back into Bruce's old desk chair. She swiveled a batarang between her fingers as she watched her teasing land.

"No, I mean, that's how Butler is getting the blue poppies in Gotham."

"What?" Kate asked, her interest piqued.

"At least, that's my working theory."

"I'll take anything at this point."

"It's why we haven't been able to catch him importing it: he doesn't need to sneak it in. It's always been here."

"But how? How do you know?"

"Energy usage," Luke answered simply. When Kate's stare of confusion didn't fade, Luke sighed and continued. "When an Arkham inmate is released, they're required to fill out two forms. One of those forms includes their expected address of residency for regular checkups-"

"If that's true, why didn't we just track Duela Dent to that address?"

"Because at the time I thought the address was a fake."

"You mean she _was_ living there?"

"I'm not sure, but when I looked it up weeks ago it led me to a half-abandoned building on the east side."

"But…"

"I took another look at the latest files. Three recent releases have listed this exact same address which means it isn't a coincidence. There are another four locations around the city with the same story: former inmates have all listed them."

"Maybe it's like a halfway house?" Kate offered, playing devil's advocate.

Luke shook his head. "Nope, not unless Butler has a habit of keeping his old patients under his thumb."

"Talk plainly, dude."

"Nearly twenty years ago Dr. Butler was a married man."

"Aren't they all?" Kate replied dryly, not seeing the web Luke was weaving.

"His wife's name was Delia Pflaum"

"Was?"

"She's presumed dead."

"Presumed?"

"She went missing nearly ten years ago."

"Any suspects?"

"Not Dr. Butler, if that's what you're thinking. It was a big story at the time; she was fairly well known among Gotham's elites, so there was a concerted effort to find her. Dr. Butler was in the middle of a forty-hour shift at the hospital, so there was no way it could be him. After months the GCPD suspended the search - they were strained for resources and it's not like going missing in Gotham is uncommon. She didn't have any enemies, so everyone mostly assumed she was probably the victim of a mugging gone wrong."

"I vaguely remember the headlines. Catherine was friends with her."

"Mary's mom?"

Kate nodded, "But what do the properties have to do with this?"

"They were hers."

"And now?"

"Part of a trust; since she's never formally been declared dead they remain in her name but are managed by none other than-"

"Dr. Butler," Kate finished. She stared off, trying to piece Luke's narrative together before scowling in renewed confusion. "But what does that have to do with greenhouses? Or blue poppies?"

"All four properties have been using an unprecedented amount of electricity."

"Maybe they're just bad at turning off the lights?"

Luke shook his head before slapping down a folder of paper with dramatic flair. "This is on another level. You remember those big marijuana busts from five years ago?"

Kate smirked. "Marijuana? Are you twelve?"

"The intel that blew the investigation wide open was the energy usage," Luke continued, ignoring Kate's jab. "Running a greenhouse requires an enormous influx of energy, and not just for the grow lights. The amount of energy being pumped into these houses beats the bust from five years ago by a mile."

Kate replayed the web of logic Luke had just weaved before breaking into a smile for the first time in weeks.

"Luke, you're a damn genius. I'll check it out tomorrow."

"Kate, I think... why don't we just send this tip to the Crows?"

"No, I'll handle this."

"But Kate, they might be armed-"

"It's fine-"

"-and _armored_ -"

"Luke, this isn't up for discussion."

* * *

_**Crows Flock Toward New Technology** _

_The Crows Task Force, a private security agency currently working with the GCPD in a coordinated effort to stamp out a recent wave of crime, has partnered with Hamilton Technology to forward a piece of weaponry. Multiple sources confirm it is effective against the high-tech armoured crews spreading fear around the City, and initial prototypes are undergoing a number of tests for viability. Once approved, roll out of the weapon has been authorized for expedited production to get it into the hands of the Task Force._

_One contentious element of the R &D process in the current political climate is the Crows refusal to share the technology with the GCPD citing inefficient oversight and checks and balances within the City's Police Department. In his latest press conference, the GCPD Commissioner railed against the Crows Task Force for "leaving the city's finest ill-equipped against the domestic terrorists running loose" through the streets._

_When pressed for comment, the Lead Crow had this to say: "While we sympathize with the Commissioner and the GCPD, this kind of technology is years beyond anything that has ever been used in standard policing. The Crows Task Force is trained and skilled at utilizing this weaponry safely and with the oversight required to ensure effective use. All too often the very guns meant to be in holsters of our police are in the hands of criminals. Until the Commissioner can provide us with their own internal audit accounting for every weapon purchased by their department over the last year, this technology will remain exclusively with the Crows."_

_The Commissioner was unavailable for comment following the Crow's latest remarks._

* * *

"Hello?" Luke answered his phone with a scowl of confusion.

"Luke?"

"Sophie? Is everything ok?"

"Are you still using my Crow log-in credentials?" came her voice across the phone. It was not a tone of patience.

"Oh…" Luke began, feeling the blood drain from his face. "No, not since - er, why?"

"What are you using them for?"

"I'm not sure I know what you're talking about. Maybe call Kate abo-"

"I've tried Kate."

"Maybe give her another try-"

"Several times."

"She's pretty busy today-"

"Over several days."

"Oh," Luke said, sinking into his chair and silently cursing Kate's elusive tactics.

"So now I'm calling you instead. What are you using them for, Luke?"

Luke laughed nervously. "Sophie, I - we aren't-"

"Then why am I looking at a history of my credentials pinging off an IP address from Kate's apartment? Either tell me what you two are up to, or I'm cutting you off."

It was a surprising proposition. At minimum Luke expected Sophie to cut them off and at worst to press charges. That she was suggesting continued access was unexpected. He hesitated, untrusting of his ability to lie on the spot; this was Kate's area of expertise, not his.

"We're… we're still trying to track Cobblepot's relevance in the Dent bombing," he said, mustering as much guilt as possible. "I… I'm sorry, I-we should have told you-"

"Enough. I expect this kind of thing from Kate; I don't need it from you, too."

"Sorry?" he said, feigning confusion.

"I have your search history in front of me; nothing about what I'm seeing has to do with the Dent case."

Luke froze, wishing Kate was here to take this volley.

"What are you accessing Arkham files for?" she continued.

"Uh…"

"And this Dr. Randolph Butler. Why are you so interested in him?"

"I… uhm… he-he was Duela Dent's doctor so… so..."

"Fine, but what does any of this have to do with Cobblepot?" Sophie asked, circling back to Luke's original reason.

Luke was struck with a realization that Sophie might be fishing with an agenda. He quickly scanned his memory trying to remember late night conversations with Kate from weeks earlier.

" _Was she able to get the files?"_

" _Yea, they're there," Kate said, nodding toward the folders._

" _This information only goes back three months. Dr. Butler is bound to have a history of this - the more we have the better."_

" _Sophie is meeting Batwoman Wednesday; I'll ask her then."_

"Luke?"

"Hu-what?"

"I asked what Butler has to do with Cobblepot."

"Oh, well, we didn't find anything. It was a shot in the dark - leave no stone unturned, right?" he laughed uneasily.

Silence fell over the other side of the phone, and Luke felt a prick of fear cut through him, imagining the glare Sophie was giving from the other side.

"Where is Kate?" Sophie asked after a moment. Her tone was unchanged, and Luke had a sinking feeling the call wasn't going to end well.

"I'm not sure. Like I said, she's pretty busy today."

"It's nearly midnight," Sophie pointed out.

"Er, right…"

The truth was he knew exactly where she was. He was watching her in blinking dot form navigate through the east side toward the address Duela Dent had listed on her forms. She was two blocks away and bound to check in any minute for Luke's surveillance of the site.

"If you're going to keep this up, you need to work on your lying, Luke," Sophie said before hanging up.

Luke stared at the receiver in his hands, his eyes wide with surprise as a growing dread filled him. If his suspicion was right, things were only going to get trickier.

"Luke, anything I should be on the lookout for?" Came Kate's voice through the speaker system.

Luke paused, staring between the speaker and his phone.

"Give me another minute, something came up," Luke replied.

"What something?"

Luke glanced at the phone again.

"No-nothing. Just - just a second."

He muted Kate and swiped up his phone again, quickly navigating it before pressing 'call'. Two rings passed before it connected

"Hey, I… can we talk? I-I need a favor."


	24. Chapter 24

Kate gasped awake, her eyes wide as she tried to identify her surroundings. She felt a hand rest on her shoulder and her arm reached up instinctively to fight before her gaze focused on a familiar look of concern.

"Wh… what happened?"

"Fear toxin," Luke said simply. "They busted your mask."

Kate lifted herself from the table and looked around at their surroundings. She was in the bat cave, but the last thing she remembered was sneaking her way into one of the handful of greenhouses they'd uncovered over the last few weeks. It had been a standard set-up: she would investigate to confirm its existence and, depending on its state, destroy it, capture anyone working there or, as a backup plan, ensure the GCPD and Crows were tipped off to raid the space.

"But how - what am I doing back here?" Kate asked, her brain stretching for a memory. The last thing she remembered clearly was the sound of the strike of metal on metal followed by gunfire.

"They only cracked your mask, so you must not have inhaled too much. You were responsive for a while, and you managed to make your way toward Wayne Tower. It was only the last bit of the trip you needed an extra hand," Luke explained loosely. He knew anything more extensive would be ignored by Kate.

"Thanks," Kate nodded, understanding Luke had intervened.

"Kate… uh, look, it's none of my business, but the things you were saying… well they wer-"

"Nothing. It was nothing," Kate said coldly, feeling a vulnerability at what Luke might have heard. She couldn't remember what she said, but the memories and images that the toxin brought up lingered on the edge of her mind.

"Between last time and tonight… If you ever want to talk abo-"

"Luke, enough," she said, swinging her legs over the side of the makeshift bed.

"You shouldn't be getting up; you're in no condition to-"

Luke paused when Kate's glare landed on him. He sighed in submission as he tamped down his feelings of frustration and concern for Kate. She lifted herself from the horizontal surface, pausing only a moment as she collected herself from the dizzy spell that came with it.

"Did you manage to call in the Crows?" Kate asked as she walked over to the computer setup.

Luke stared back in surprise. "What?"

"The greenhouse. Did you have the Crows or GCPD pick it up?"

Luke's mouth remained open in shock. "I… no, Kate, I was a little more concerned about you in the moment."

"You said I was responsive," Kate shot back in annoyance. She let out a sigh of frustration. "Great, so they got away."

"I thought you were going to die."

"And for that you decided to forgo the mission?" Kate asked, her eyes narrowed into a scowl.

"Are you - are you serious? Do you even hear yourself anymore, Kate? We'll get them another time."

"Yea? And how many more times do you think we have until we'll get them?"

"Well it would have been none if _you wound up dead_ ," Luke nearly shouted.

Kate rolled her eyes, missing the frustration in Luke's voice. "We need to track them again. I want to catch these guys tonight."

"No," Luke replied simply as he took a breath to keep his own anger in check.

"Excuse me?"

"This… I… I need you alive if we're going to keep, and - and, no. Not tonight. You need to rest."

Kate stared back in angry surprise. The last three months had produced this flavor of conversation on countless occasions, and Kate was getting fed up with it.

"People are getting hurt, and no one is being stopped," she said slowly through her clenched jaw. "The Crows finally have a path toward weaponizing themselves, but they aren't doing enough."

"No. You can't guilt me into this, Kate. You're getting reckless an-"

"Reckless? No, I'm doing what needs to be done because no one else in this city is lifting a finger about it. Do you know the Crows still aren't using the rai-"

"And dangerous," Luke continued, ignoring Kate's familiar response. "You're erratic and getting people hurt."

"And you're being hyperbolic. The ones getting hurt are the one's standing in my way."

"Kate, I hear the bones crack through the mic."

"So because a few bad guys need a cast for six weeks, you think I'm being dangerous and erratic? Do I need to remind you these are the same people bringing chaos to the streets _every night_?"

"I know what they're doing, Kate, but you aren't them. You've become this… this-"

"This 'what'?" Kate asked, her voice challenging as she glared at Luke from across the batcave.

"Look, this is now the second time you've been hit with Fear Toxin. The first time y-"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"You're rattled, Kate. You've lost your edge. I can't imagine what the toxin brings up, but you… you haven't been the same. I see it in how you're performing."

"I don't need this from you, Luke."

"Well… get used to it. Because… Kate, because something needs to change, or I'm done. You want to create your own mayhem? Fine. But I'm out. I'm not going to watch you kill yourself. I… I can't do this anymore."

"Have it your way," Kate muttered as she grabbed her mask and exited.

* * *

"It's not ready."

"What do you mean _it's not ready_? Hamilton authorized it with the go-ahead weeks ago," Jacob hissed.

"Are we really going to run through this again? A fifty percent success rate is not a tool I'm willing to make as the last line of defense between a Crow and these guys. Even Hamilton isn't ready to sign off on this," Sophie shot back across the board room table.

"So give everyone two," Jacob replied dismissively.

Sophie's brow narrowed in annoyance at Jacob's unyielding defiance. "It takes nearly ten seconds to charge. You think in a life or death situation our team has an extra ten seconds to spare?"

The argument was circular and unmoving. Ever since the press release had been issued, there was growing pressure from the City's politically powerful to get the rail guns into the hands of the Crows. Any delay fueled into the narrative that the City wasn't doing enough to protect its people. For Jacob and half the board, this hurt their ability to position the Crows as Gotham's savior in light of GCPD lacking access to the same weapon. They were also hoping to take advantage of Batwoman being on the outs with public favor. For Sophie and the other half of the board, they were interrogating the short and long term effect a failed execution could have. For Sophie it was in the value of lives, for the board it was in the value of the company.

Each week the board had scheduled emergency meetings to discuss the progress of the rail gun technology. It was becoming clearer and clearer that Hamilton had cut corners in the initial production of the gun. This resulted in regular malfunctioning. When a Hamilton representative came into the board meeting two weeks ago, they advised they hadn't complied with every component of the provided blueprints. Originally they saw the inclusion of a component as being unrelated to the gun's operation.

" _When our team reviewed it, we saw these as… as an appendix; no one knew why it was there, but it didn't look like it assisted in the gun's operation. In our reverse engineering of the blueprints, our team concluded as much, and removing it cut down the development timeline by two weeks."_

" _And now?" Sophie pressed._

" _Well, honestly, we're still not sure why, but the gun works with this added back in."_

" _So what's the timeline," Jacob asked gruffly, clearly perturbed at the delays._

" _We've got the prototype working. If we undertake the same round of tests it's-"_

" _No, no. We don't have time for tests," Jacob interrupted._

" _Is Hamilton willing to put its reputation on the line without proper testing?" Sophie followed up, her glare set on Jacob's red-faced reply._

" _I… no ma'am. We are doing our very best to get it working as quickly as possible."_

" _Well clearly not fast enough," Jacob growled._

" _I think if there's one lesson we've learned, it's that fast doesn't always give the best results. Wouldn't you agree, Jacob?" Sophie said._

Over the last three months, Sophie had gone toe-to-toe with Jacob on more occasions than she could recall. She was certain her willingness to challenge him was half the reason she'd held onto the position of Lead Crow for that time. While much of the board was on Jacob's side about expediting the release of the rail gun into the hands of the Crows, they were reluctant to do it too prematurely. Sophie's steady hand in the situation calmed them of this fear, but even the most conservative of board members were getting antsy to see progress.

"Fine, we greenlight when Hamilton greenlights," Jacob gave in.

"No," Sophie replied.

"No?"

"We greenlight when we've tested and trained on our end. Hamilton committed to finalizing tests this week. They've hedged and expedited production at risk; if all goes well we will have the first batch of rail guns in the Crows facility first thing Monday. We've outlined a training strategy with Hamilton to get the Crows up to speed on its operation. Once completed, _then_ we greenlight."

"But we are-"

"I agree with Ms. Moore," Cobblepot said, interrupting Jacob's objection. Jacob and Sophie both turned in surprise toward the line of board members who had remained unusually quiet all meeting.

"Excuse me?" Jacob pressed. "You expect me to just let these madmen continue running through the streets for another week?"

"That is exactly what I expect you to do. The City has established curfew, introduced checkpoints throughout the boroughs, and established protocol for the citizens of Gotham to follow. It is the people's responsibility to live in a defensive state and maintain their own safety until we can intervene. We will not risk this company's future on half-assed technology that shutters our doors forever. As a founding member, I feel like this shouldn't be something I have to explain to you, Jacob."

Jacob gaped in surprise at Cobblepot's assertions. His face turned a deep shade of red as he realized the room was in agreement with Cobblepot.

"Fine, but any death between now and then is on all of your hands," he spat as he rose from his seat and marched out of the room.

* * *

Mary was alone in the clinic sanitizing medical instruments before locking up for the night when the all-too-familiar shadow appeared out of the corner. "You know, if this wasn't like, the hundredth time you'd done that, I'd probably die of a heart attack."

"Sorry, it's just habit now."

"Yea, well, maybe try using the front door when you stop by here."

Batwoman smirked, "Yes ma'am."

"So what is it this time?" she asked, collecting a tray of instruments and restocking them on a shelf, "bad guy with a bullet? Need another vat of fear toxin remedy? Chicken pox?"

"Uh, no, I'm looking for something a little more straightforward than that. I was hoping I could use your services to build out some... preventative measures."

"Does Batwoman need a check up?" Mary asked, a slight edge to her tone.

"Not exactly… hey, is everything ok?"

"Yea, fine," Mary retorted.

"If I'm asking for too much Mary - if you'd rather not be involved in this, just say the word."

The reality was the last three months Kate had been dancing around what her and Mary both knew: Kate was Batwoman, but she couldn't drum up the courage to out herself and risk Mary being explicitly involved.

"You know I'm involved either way, right?" Mary said, responding to Kate's comment but also responding as though reading Kate's thoughts.

"But you didn't ask for this, either," Kate offered as apology. "That said, your work with the remedy has helped hundreds. You were smart to bring it to Hamilton Dynamics after the first batch of… of-"

"Medicinal hooch?" Mary offered.

Kate chuckled. "Yea, that works."

Mary's scowl softened at this.

"Well, don't just stand there. What do you need?" Mary continued, as though the challenge of Kate's words encouraged her to prove she was committed to helping Batwoman.

"Uh… right, uhm - adrenaline. I need adrenaline shots."

"For who?"

"Me."

"But why? I thought you had that," Mary lifted hands to cover her face, "that mask thing."

Mary made light with her gestures, but her voice revealed the worry she felt at Batwoman's words.

"Had a bit of a problem with it the other night," Kate admitted lightly. In reality she'd had more than a problem: the masked goons were getting more brazen in their successes, and that meant they were taking on riskier attacks. It was complete luck that she managed to escape alive before she became paralyzed in her own fears. Since then she'd played it safe, keeping a distance until the mask could be repaired, but she didn't want to take any chances. With Luke's begrudging attitude toward Kate's activities, she needed to make sure she had her own back-up plan.

"Keeping a few doses on you isn't a bad idea," Mary finished. "You're right." Mary paused in thought, "the problem is I don't have anything here. I'll stop by the hospital tomorrow and grab what I can."

Kate relaxed. Mary's goodness knew no bounds. This wasn't a small ask. Sure, she had cooked up an unregulated antidote hacked together by Batwoman's predecessor, but this wasn't any less risky.

"That - that would be great, thank you."

"Of course," Mary responded, looking at Batwoman directly for the first time since she'd arrived. A glimpse of disappointment shown through her agreeableness, "Stop by tomorrow night for them."

Kate paused, evaluating her next words carefully before letting them loose: "Or you could swing by The Hold Up instead. Maybe we could grab a drink together."

Mary froze, one arm raised to shelve a container of unused surgical suture. Her eyes widened in disbelief.

"Unless you're busy?" Kate offered.

"Y-you… Kate?"

* * *

"This is insane. I knew it!" Mary said for what felt like the twentieth time. She was sitting with Kate and Luke in a completely vacant Hold Up. The space was empty and not set to open for another hour which gave Kate the time she needed to catch Mary up to speed.

When Mary had appeared an hour earlier, she wasn't surprised to see a very skeptical Luke sitting next to Mary. After time and two rounds of drinks, Luke finally appeared convinced Mary knowing was a good idea. His immediate concerns were warranted and legitimate, but his stance shifted. For all of his hesitations, the reasons made sense: having someone with proper medical training meant he wouldn't have to continue stitching Kate after unsavoury run-ins. Mary, for her part, was handling the news well. After a thirty minute monologue from Kate and frequently inserted asterisks from a hesitant Luke, the trio were on the same page about Kate's secret identity.

"And Sophie?" Mary asked expectantly.

Kate and Luke shared a confused look at this.

"What about Sophie?"

"She knows too, right?"

"S-Sophie doesn't know. Why would you think that?" Luke asked in surprise.

"Because she told me she knew months ago! I assumed you were just leaving me in the dark because you didn't trust me."

"Oh, that," Luke sighed. "We took care of that," he said before launching into the memory of a Batwoman-clad Julia.

"So when's the next mission? Do I need like, a password or something to get in?" Mary asked, making reference to the mysterious batcave sitting below Wayne Tower Kate had described earlier.

"Uh, well, we… we don't really have 'missions' per se. We just sort of, do research until we find something and then-"

"And then we track them. It's not really planned."

"Oh… so what should I do?" Mary asked, slightly disappointed.

"You should keep up appearances and stay on schedule. Half the trick is keeping your cover," Kate advised.

Mary moaned in frustration. "So that means I have to go to my lecture tonight?"

Luke offered Mary a small smile as he nodded his head, "Yes, you should go to class, Mary."

Mary gave a small sigh before knocking back the rest of her drink. "Well, guess that means I should get going. It starts in ten minutes."

"We should probably get back anyway," Kate offered in consolation.

Luke watched Mary slip her jacket on and reach for her back.

"Kate, actually, can you hold back a second," Luke called lightly. Kate glanced between Mary and him before Mary gave a nod of approval.

"It's fine - I've gotta run. We can chat more later," Mary said, buttoning up her jacket.

"Sure thing," Kate smiled back.

Luke's smile remained on his face until the door closed behind Mary and he let it fall, revealing his true feelings.

"What was that?"

"What was what?" Kate asked, surprised.

"You gave me no warning. You never once mentioned telling Mary."

"You seemed pretty supportive of it two minutes ago."

"That's not the point. You-you just threw me into this."

"You say that like this isn't how everything has gone."

Luke gaped back at Kate before sliding his fingers under his glasses and rubbing the bridge of his nose in frustration.

"What do you think this is, Kate?"

"What do you mean?"

"Who am I to you? Am I… am I just your goon who clicks away behind a screen or-or what?"

"We're partners," Kate said as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Right," Luke said, nodding in disbelief. "So you making a decision like this - bringing Mary into the team-"

"Do you disagree?" Kate shot back.

"What? No, but-"

"But what? You don't disagree so what's the problem?"

"This is not how people work together. This… Kate, this isn't how people communicate."

"Well you've benched yourself this last week, so when was I supposed to have a pow-wow with you?"

"I…" Luke sighed in frustration. "Kate, I just… I'd like to know before you blow your cover to someone."

"And I don't see how you knowing before or after the fact matters."

Luke's face fell at Kate's words. "It… it matters, Kate. And if I need to explain why it matters, we aren't on the same page," he said, gathering his own jacket from the adjacent table.

"Where are you going?"

"I… I don't know. Somewhere else," he said, shrugging the jacket on.

"But we're still scouting out the docks tonight, right?"

Luke froze, his face a mix of frustration and confusion. "Wh-Kate… no."

"But what abou-"

"Kate, I think we need a minute apart. I think… I think I need to reevaluate my role in this-"

"Your role? What the hell does that mean, Luke?"

"You are utterly impossible to work with right now. You aren't operating like a team; you're functioning like a one woman show on a rampage to fix all of Gotham's problems, but you can't do it alone. And until you realize that… until you recognize that this needs to be a team effort, I can't… I just can't keep doing this. You're putting yourself in danger, and you've completely vetoed my voice in anything."

"That's not true-"

"Isn't it? Other than using me as your research boy, when was the last time you actually took my advice? Actually, no, not even that. When was the last time you _listened_ to my advice?"

"That's not fair-"

"No, what's not fair is arrangement, Kate. I've been saying it for weeks, and I'll say it again because I doubt you've once heard it: you seem hell bent on getting yourself killed, and you're cutting corners that's going to make sure that happens. You want to nab these guys so badly? Fine, be my guest. But then you'll be the one doing the searching."

"But Luke, you and I both know I can't do this myself. I need you for this."

"While I appreciate the admission, that's not enough right now," he said with a level of finality as he navigated around the table toward the same door Mary had exited minutes earlier.

* * *

"I just got a call from my contact at Hamilton."

"And?"

"It passed," Paulie said enthusiastically. "They're sending over the two prototypes tonight for us to begin training over the weekend.

Sophie forced a smile at this. "That's great news."

"Do you want me to tell Agent Kane?" Paulie asked, trying to read Sophie's expression.

"No, no, I'll tell him. We need to discuss the training protocol anyway. I'm sure Agent Kane will have his own opinion or two about the methodology."

"Right, sure," Paulie nodded in understanding. He stepped toward the door before pausing. "You… you don't really want this in the field, do you?"

"Sorry?"

"The rail gun."

"Would I have handed Hamilton Dynamics the technology if I didn't?" Sophie asked, looking up from her desk at the ginger.

"With all due respect, ma'am… yes, I think you would."

"And why would you think that?" Sophie challenged, her brow furrowed in surprise.

"Because I think that's the kind of leader you are," he said before exiting.

* * *

Kate felt the heavy bass drown out her thoughts as she bussed the bar, bringing forgotten empty glasses to the sink for cleaning. Her mood hadn't lightened after her confrontation with Luke. Although, she knew her mood had generally been unchanged for the last few weeks from edgy annoyance. With every new attack and every new victim, she felt her patience diminish to a point where, if she wasn't actively chasing these goons, it was a minute wasted. To have Luke not only challenge that but to hinder its progress didn't sit well with that current level of impatience.

They both knew she was lousy at technology, and without Luke around she'd be completely in the dark, so when he left without another word, she all but chalked the night up as a loss. Kate couldn't stand the thought of going home and being alone with her thoughts for an entire night, and Jenn's timely arrival to get the bar ready for opening gave her the excuse she needed to stay around. It wasn't as productive as a night looming over the rooftops of Gotham, but she took advantage of her option to linger around the bar all night.

She slipped past Jenn for the eighth time that night with an armful of glasses when a familiar face caught her eye. Kate watched Renee for a moment as she interacted with the stranger next to her. They were all the classic signs of flirting, and Kate couldn't help but cock her head in confusion. She watched Renee shoot and miss as the other woman politely rejected her before wandering back to her friends. Renee visibly sighed as she glanced up and caught Kate's look.

"Oh what? It's been months," Renee complained at Kate's questioning stare.

"Sorry?" Kate asked, feeling a small surge of anger build up at what she had just witnessed.

Renee was about to repeat her sentence at a higher volume when she realized Kate's look of confusion was not from the heavy base reverberating through the space. It was for something else entirely.

"She didn't tell you."

"Who is 'she'?" Kate shouted over the music, her suspicion of Renee not waning.

Renee sighed, shaking her head in disbelief. "Can I get a margarita?"

"Sure."

"Thank you," Renee sighed.

"After you explain."

"I don't really think-"

"I'll have Jenn make you a double," Kate offered sarcastically, dangling Renee's love of a strong drink in front of her.

"Sophie."

"What?" Kate looked back in more confusion.

"We broke up."

"Oh."

"You're telling me she didn't tell you."

"We haven't chatted in a while."

"That feels like an understatement. When was the last time you talked to her?" Renee asked in genuine surprise.

Kate shook her head. "Not since… well, not since that night."

"But that… that was what… three months ago?"

Kate shrugged indifferently, but the look of surprise lingered long enough for Renee to see it.

"Maybe you should have Jenn make two," Renee called back.

"I should get back to work. This round is on me," Kate shouted back before stepping away to grab Jenn's attention. Renee watched Kate's lips move and her head nod toward Renee before she slipped out from behind the bar toward the back.

Renee flagged Jenn over once Kate was out of sight, shouting a single amendment: "make it two."

* * *

"This is amazing," Renee gaped as she slipped behind the public realm of the bar.

"What are you doing back here?"

"You should turn this space into something," Renee continued, remarking at the high-ceilinged back room. "You could have a second bar back here along that wall. It would increase your max occupancy."

"Wha-who let you back here?"

"If I tell you, will you promise not to fire her?"

"Jenn," Kate answered simply.

"You looked like you could use a drink."

Kate didn't respond, instead sliding a few out of place boxes against the wall as Renee hopped up onto a crate, margaritas in hand.

"Maybe even turn this into more of a lounge space, you know? The acoustic separation is surprisingly legit. I can barely hear the DJ. Throw in a few tables and you've tapped into a whole other market," Renee began again after a moment of silence.

"And here I thought you were just a simple cop. I didn't realize you were an interior designer by night."

Renee shot Kate a quick scowl before shrugging. "Sometimes a quiet space is better."

Renee watched Kate continue to pace around the room for a silent minute, taking a sip from her oversized margarita. "Do you ever sit still?"

"What?"

"I feel like you're always moving. Come to think of it, I've never seen you sleep."

"That's such a weird thing to say. Do you watch everyone you know sleep?"

"Oh, er, no, but, I just mean, the only time I've… well you were awake in the middle of the night and then up before I woke up the next morning."

"So?"

"Do you have insomnia or something?"

"You ask a lot of questions."

"So is that a yes?"

"I go out a lot. Day naps are a thing," Kate replied casually, walking over to Renee.

"I told her to make you a double, but Jenn insisted on a half-portion," Renee said as Kate accepted the margarita from her outstretched hand, taking a sip of it before grimacing slightly.

"This is basically just tequila-"

"With a splash of lime. Yea, Jenn does it right."

"This has more salt than lime-"

"And more tequila than glass."

"Explains why I'm losing money every Tuesday," Kate muttered, scowling at the drink. "We may have to adjust the two-for-one promos."

Renee laughed lightly before taking another sip. She smacked her lips in delight.

Kate leaned against the crate, staring absentmindedly at the array of boxes.

"So are we going to talk about the elephant, or did you just bring me back here for a quick make out session?" Renee asked lightly.

"I didn't invite you back here."

"You sure?"

Kate stared blankly at Renee's ability to weave her way into a conversation. She was a curious character, and the lighthearted way with which she jumped from topic to topic caught Kate off guard, but, more importantly, it distracted her from the thoughts circling in her own head.

"Because if it's the latter, we're gonna need another drink-"

"Ouch," Kate remarked.

"For you," Renee finished.

"Your sense of humor is…"

"Amazing? I've been told."

"Really self-deprecating," Kate observed.

Renee shrugged lightly. "I grew up with a lot of older brothers. The best strategy to combat them was to come up with the punchline before they could. That way it's still funny _and_ they can't take credit."

"Smart."

"So."

"So?"

"You and Sophie."

"I don't know what to tell you. There isn't anyth-"

"Yea, yea, so I keep hearing. But Kate, tell me, why are you so against fighting for her?"

"Who says I should?" Kate replied, the words slipping out before she could stop herself. Renee was good at bringing a lightness to the conversation, but that didn't change the feelings Kate had been fighting for years, and somehow the combination of the two just spelled disaster in her honesty category.

Renee paused, staring into Kate's face. She was good at hiding things, but Renee was beginning to appreciate the moments that Kate's facade cracked.

"You haven't forgiven her."

"That isn't… that's not," Kate began, wanting to deny Renee's words but lacking the fight to execute. She felt a sudden wave of exhaustion at the thought of playing this role again.

Renee watched Kate's internal struggle play out, suddenly seeing Kate in a different light. There was an unexpected vulnerability in it.

"You still love her."

"I don't ha-"

"Kate, you still love her," Renee repeated, as though trying to remind Kate of that fact, "but you don't know if you can trust her again. You haven't forgiven her for Point Rock, right? That's what keeps holding you back-"

"I think yo-"

"And honestly, I get that," Renee interrupted. "I can't really imagine it, but I get it. It'd be hard after… well, after what happened. But Kate… that was what, like, thirty years ago, right? And look, I didn't know Sophie Moore from school, but I doubt she's the same Sophie Moore we both know today."

"What exactly did she tell you?" Kate asked, suddenly vulnerable to how much knowledge Renee carried.

"All of it."

Kate felt her chest tighten at this. Only three people on the planet knew 'all of it': her, Sophie, and Melvin. If Renee was serious, it meant she had joined a very small circle of shared knowledge.

"I think you've had one too many of Jenn's margar-"

"Tell me I'm wrong."

"I…" Kate sighed into silence, trying to find a distraction in some adjacent box.

"You're good at keeping up appearances, I'll give you that. If Sophie hadn't told me, I wouldn't have pieced it together."

"Then I'm sure you'll also have realized I'm not interested in talking about it," Kate said simply, bringing the over-tequilaed drink to her lips and instantly regretting it.

"Yea, that… that part was easy."

Renee watched Kate in silence, taking in the glimpses of emotion that slipped through her practiced expression until it faded entirely.

"It's not a bad idea," she said after a minute.

"What isn't?" Renee asked, her finger running over the salted edge of the glass.

"A second space. The permits allow for double the current occupancy, and this space is actually way cooler than the front."

"Is Kate Kane taking my suggestion?" Renee asked half in joke and half in surprise.

Kate scowled, "I'm not taking it; I'm considering it."

"Hmm," Renee replied, tossing back the rest of her drink. "I need a top up. Anything for you?"

"I'll go," Kate offered, beginning to lean forward when Renee's hand pressed her in place.

"No, I've got it. You got the last round. What're you having? I assume this isn't your cup of tea," she said, taking the glass from Kate's hand and draining the rest of its abysmal volume.

Kate hesitated before folding, "Lagavulin."

"What?"

"That 'crap' you can't stand the smell of."

"First, 'lalavin' is not a real word."

"And second?"

Renee paused for a moment before grinning.

"You didn't have a second."

"Nope."

* * *

"So it's pretty straightforward with two exceptions," the technician from Hamilton was explaining to Sophie and Jacob.

"And those are?" Jacob asked, holding one of the two prototypes between his fingers.

"Uh, sir, can I ask you to lower that until I've finished explaining?"

"Son, I've handled more varieties of weaponry than you can count. I don't think there's anything to worry about," Jacob replied, ignoring the technician's pleading face.

He glanced at Sophie, hoping she might intervene. Sophie rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"Agent Kane, please comply with every instruction provided by the Hamilton technicians. They're only trying to do their jobs-"

"Well so am I," Jacob remarked flatly.

"Yes, and we all see that you're very good at holding a gun. Now, please put it down until directed to do so," Sophie replied dryly.

He sighed before dropping his arms and placing the gun back on the table, but a muffled snicker from the Crows popcorn gallery lingering on the wall did not help temper Jacob's frustrations at taking orders from Sophie. The technician offered a brief smile of thanks to Sophie before the glare from Jacob scared it away.

"Uh, r-right, so, two things: one is this safety feature. It's a two-step process with an optional third. The first step requires you toggle this lever in front of the trigger. It's a small measure and simple enough to do if you know where it's at. The second is that your thumb _must_ be placed here," he said, pointing to a patch on the grip, "to release the charge."

"And the third?" Sophie asked, noting the operation was quite simple.

"Fingerprint identification. We can have all guns registered to specific users so only they can use them. It… it will take another day or two to process, but basically this patch where the thumb goes also doubles as the reader-"

"No," Jacob said simply.

"But it would ensure it doesn't fall into the wrong hands," the technician said quickly. "And yes, it's an extra delay to the timeline bu-"

"No, Agent Kane is right," Sophie said, masking her disappointment as best she could.

"Thank you Agent Moore," Jacob replied with a tone of sarcasm and surprise.

"But-"

"Over half the force wears gloves. We can't have a feature that doesn't work for half the field agents," Sophie explained.

"Oh," the technician replied. "Well, in that case, we can move on and talk about the gun's operation."

"Three hours later," Jacob muttered under his breath.

"Er… right, so, the rail gun's mark is designed for very accurate targeting. Think of a rifle over a musket. While the blast seems large, it is incredibly focused, and it means a far more concentrated hit and capable of ripping through the bulletproof suit."

Sophie flinched slightly at the technician's description.

"Care for a demonstration?" the technician asked.

Jacob nodded enthusiastically as the technician stepped up to a line and pointed the gun at a mannequin clad in a set of armor taken off one of the handful the Crows had apprehended over the last two weeks.

"Now, to charge, I need to cock the gun," he continued, sliding a tab into place. "This will set it to charge. Every gun is capable of firing five times before it needs recharging, so these should not be used like normal guns."

"Any more disclaimers?" Jacob sighed in annoyance at this news.

"Uh…"

"Please continue," Sophie intervened again, scowling at Jacob who shrugged indifferently.

"Right, so, uh, the-the charge. By now the gun will have charged and is ready to fire. The gun is unable to fire with a partial charge, so please keep this in mind: it takes approximately eight seconds to charge. It will also only hold for a maximum of thirty seconds, so carrying a constant charge is not possible."

"So by now you've already lost the charge," Jacob interrupted again.

"Yes, Agent Kane, and if you keep interrupting, we won't get a single shot fired off tonight," Sophie cut in.

Jacob waved at the technician to continue.

"Uhm, right, so, I'll set it to recharge and… well, apologies, I'm not a very good shot but…" he mumbled nervously before taking aim after a few seconds.

The line of Crows watched as the technician fired the rail gun toward the mannequin. For all of his nervousness, his shot was on target, and the blast did exactly what he promised: it tore through the suit and shattered the mannequin.

Sophie stared in stunned amazement as the armour remained fairly intact save a single penetration that pierced through both sides of the armor. A feeling of horror cut through her as she noted the look of victory on Jacob's face.

* * *

"Ta da!" Renee shouted. "It's practically done. You could open tomorrow."

Kate smirked at Renee's enthusiasm. "It needs a lot more than a few chairs and crates."

"Where is your imagination, Kane?"

"I…" Kate faltered, her tongue slow from the three empty glasses that lined the crate next to her.

"Maybe some paint. How do you like mauve?"

"Is that a joke?" Kate asked as Renee joined her on the crate.

"You had paint samples," Renee clarified.

"Three months ago," Kate reacted in surprise.

"I'm all about the long joke," Renee replied easily.

"Your attention to detail is almost annoying," Kate admitted with a smile.

"Says you and every one of my exes," Renee giggled into the dredges of her latest margarita.

"Another?"

"Not until we finish the bar," Renee said, nodding toward the half-assembled set of boxes that made up the imaginary counter.

"You're not serious," Kate said, her tone only half-annoyed at Renee's insistence.

"One hundred percent," Renee called back as she scurried over to the other side of the space. "Come on, we don't have all night."

"Don't we?" Kate asked as she wandered over.

"And let you miss out on a night of clubbing? Not a chance," Renee said easily, her words and the margaritas beginning to jumble together.

"What?"

"It's Friday night, Kane. Are you telling me you don't have plans on a Friday night?"

"Would you believe me if I said 'no'?"

Renee peered over the boxes at Kate's honesty. It had slowly unfolded as the night progressed. "Actually, yes. Now, help me with these."

After a few more minutes Renee finally let up and surveyed their work.

"Now, it's clear you lack imagination, so allow me: the wooden flooring will stay as is. It has that grungy warehouse feel. The ceiling is too high to have fixtures attached there; it would ruin the intimate mood, so obviously a series of pendant lights would be best. And then for the seating, along this wall should be booths - a nice U-shape for groups. How do you feel about red?"

"Red, uh, red is good."

"Great, I think a nice deep red… vinyl? Fuck it, you're rich, let's make it leather," Renee rattled off energetically. She turned back to Kate toward the main space. "And in the middle can be-"

Instead of delving into the details of tables, she was cut off mid-sentence by the shock of Kate's lips on hers. Before she could react Kate pulled back briefly. A silence lingered, but Kate's eyes were set on hers, asking what was left unspoken.

Renee's eyes widened in slight surprise before the three drinks answered for her as her lips melted into Kate's. She felt her breath catch as Kate leaned in, her hand reaching up to Renee's cheek. It was an unexpected tenderness that quickly evolved into something more, and Renee let Kate lead her backwards until a wall sandwiched her against Kate's hands.

Renee's own hands, hesitant at first, began wandering over Kate's body, pulling at her waist as Kate deepened the kiss. A small moan escaped her which only encouraged Kate along. She felt her bottom lip pinch between Kate's teeth before her lips left hers to trail along Renee's jawline.

"You are... a surprisingly good kisser," Renee muttered out of breath.

"That's not all I'm good at," Kate whispered in Renee's ear, sending a shockwave through her.

"Th-that is-"

"Do you wanna get out of here?" Kate asked, catching Renee even more off guard. She let the words of rejection play on her tongue until Kate's lips trailed along Renee's neckline, and Renee felt herself give into her carnal desires.

"Yes," she moaned, feeling Kate's lips curl into a smile against her neck. "But this isn't; this is just-"

"-agreed."

* * *

"Sophie, wait up!"

Sophie turned to see Paulie chasing her down the hallway. She glanced at her watch, noting with some impatience that it was well past midnight and she had to be back at the office in less than seven hours.

"You got a second?"

"Not really. Can this wait?" Sophie asked.

"What if I walk with you?"

Sophie looked like she might disagree before nodding and continuing on her path toward the elevators.

"Uhm, so, about the fingerprint thing-"

"We already decided to forgo that, Paulie," Sophie said simply.

"I-I know, but, well, I got to thinking and…" he paused as he and Sophie entered the elevator together. "It might be a good thing to include."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, after, you know, after Zienko…"

Sophie nodded in understanding.

"It would just be a good way of guaranteeing only the Crows who have been approved are the ones with access to them."

"Does Jacob know you're suggesting this?"

Paulie hesitated before shaking his head no, and Sophie understood the risk Paulie was taking in angering Jacob's Five by coming to her.

"I'll think about it," Sophie said as the doors opened to the lobby.

"And one other thing," he said softly as Sophie made to leave. She paused at the doors and looked back at him expectantly. "It… it would take another day or two to get them fitted for the field. It would be… it would be another delay."

Sophie gave him an appreciative nod. "Get some rest, Paulie."

"Yes, ma'am, thank you."

* * *

"That was… fuck, Kate, that was good."

They were splayed out on Kate's bed, having clumsily made their way from hallway to counter to couch, shedding clothes as they went before finally landing on the soft, blanketed mattress. It was surprisingly passionate as both fought aggressively for dominance which only extended the activities well into the early hours of the morning. Renee wouldn't have been surprised if she saw the edges of light on the horizon as she glanced out the windows.

Kate stared up at the ceiling in silence, her chest rising and falling heavily. Renee glanced back at her, her own eyelids heavy with elated exhaustion. She sat upright before they could close completely.

"I should get going."

"Crash here," Kate said, unmoving from her position.

"I… look, I appreciate it, but-"

"Renee, it's late. I'm offering out of precaution," Kate continued, turning her head to look at Renee.

"You think I can't take care of myself?"

"No, I'm just worried about the guy who doesn't know any better."

Renee paused thoughtfully for a moment before giving in.

"Fine," Renee grinned, "but I'll take the couch."

"Don't be ridiculous. There's plenty of room in the bed."

"I don't think that's-"

"You're worried about boundaries _now_? Ten minutes ago I had my mouth on your-"

"Fine, fine," Renee surrendered before standing to track down her forgotten clothes.

"I have spare shirts in the top drawer," Kate offered.

"Thanks," Renee said, stepping cautiously through the night light to the lone dresser set against the wall. She pulled out a soft cotton shirt, noting it was oversized for her petite form but not really caring. She turned back and smirked at the sight of Kate curled on her side.

"So you do sleep."

"Contrary to popular belief, yes," Kate replied with her eyes set closed.

Renee chuckled as she slid under the covers. The moon cast a low light across the sheets, accentuating Kate's form partially concealed under the same blankets. She gazed at Kate's tattooed skin, noting the different colors and graphics that marked the lengths of her arms.

"What's this from?" Renee asked, reaching out to run her fingers over one of a number of bruises she'd noticed throughout the course of the night. The touch caused Kate to flinch slightly but not enough to disrupt Renee's stroke across her skin.

"Bike accident," Kate replied sleepily.

"Again?" Renee asked, retracting her hand back to her side of the bed.

"I get into a lot of accidents," Kate said uncreatively.

"Have you ever considered a different mode of transportation?"

"Yea, but where's the fun in that," Kate muttered from across the mattress.

"I mean, I don't want to tell you how to live your life, but like… maybe don't do things you never get good at. That would be like if I kept being a cop but never managed to close a case. Or _did_ but then let two criminals go in the process," Renee chuckled.

"Kate?" she called, glancing over when she didn't respond and smiled when she realized Kate was fast asleep. She settled herself into her side of the bed, sighing contentedly before allowing her own eyes to give in to the draw of sleep.

* * *

Kate bolted upright, out of breath as she scanned her surroundings. It was pitch black, and she felt her hands land on the soft blankets beneath her. She closed her eyes, taking slow, deep breaths until her heart rate returned to normal.

She brought her hands to her eyes, rubbing them clear. After a moment she dropped them again, looking to her right for the sleeping form of Renee. Instead, she saw two bright orbs staring back at her.

"Hey," Renee whispered in acknowledgment.

"Oh, I-"

"When did you get hit?"

"What?"

"With Fear Toxin."

Kate paused for a beat, wrapping her head around Renee's very pointed question.

"I… I don't-"

"It's been a common symptom - to have night terrors. I just… I just assumed because you don't seem like someone who would ordinarily let nightmares get the best of her."

Renee wasn't being accusatory, but her very intentional phrasing left Kate cornered into the truth.

"It was a week ago."

"Did you get any treatment? You know they're working on one now."

"N-no," Kate answered honestly.

Renee nodded.

"What happened to your sister? Bev was it?" Renee asked after a moment.

"Beth. She died," Kate said simply. It was a phrase she'd uttered hundreds of times, and after years of practice it came a certain detachment, except this time it felt fresher than it had in those same years. The memories of the fear toxin made it that way.

"I'm sorry."

"It wasn't - it was years ago though. It… I… I was younger. Her and my mom."

"Oh," Renee said in slight surprise.

"Oh?" Kate asked.

"I just… I thought you met Sophie at the military school."

"I did…" Kate replied cautiously.

"Then what does she have to do with Beth's death?"

"She doesn't," Kate replied with a renewed feeling of vulnerability at what she might have said in her sleep.

Instead of pressing it though, Renee simply nodded in understanding.

"I didn't realize things could mix together, but that makes sense. I can't imagine what I'd see," Renee said, relieving Kate's worry that she'd be further interrogated. "I've even thought about all the things that might come up: I had a bully in high school, I'm afraid of spiders, and I saw my neighbor get shot. Maybe I'd get some combination of that," Renee said before breaking into a small chuckle at what her imagination created. "Maybe my bully would be a spider. That'd be terrifying."

"But you were a cop before the Crows," Kate offered as an untapped category. "You didn't see or… or witness anything?"

"Oh, sure, but it's not anything I've ever been afraid of," Renee replied dismissively.

"It's not always what you would expect," Kate said distantly, hearing the words from her dream on repeat. "It might take you by surprise."

"Sophie?"

Kate nodded, an irrational desire to be more honest than she'd been in months. "I would have guessed at seeing any number of other things before I saw her. I've seen… I've seen a lot. My sister and mom - it was obvious. I spent half my life reliving that memory so it wasn't… it didn't have the same kind of effect on me I thought it would."

"What happened?" Renee asked.

"I was a kid. We were driving when a bus slammed into the car. My mom was behind the wheel, and she lost control before it veered into the guardrail of the bridge we were crossing. Batman was there; he was trying to stop the bus - the Joker had hijacked it. He stopped just long enough to keep the car from falling in with a set of his grappling hooks. I managed to crawl out the back window and… I was trying to convince Beth to follow me when the grappling hooks gave out and the car fell into the river below."

"Was Alice your mom?"

"Wh-no… no… her name was Gabi," Kate said, scanning her memories of the nightmares and Fear Toxin for a trace of Alice. She'd been nowhere, but Renee's question suggested otherwise.

Renee nodded again, not pressing Kate, but they both felt the silence that followed her unspoken question.

"You should call her," Renee said lightly.

Kate didn't need Renee to elaborate for her to understand she meant Sophie.

"I don't think that-"

"She still loves you, too."

Kate didn't respond. Instead she sat in sustained silence and listened to Renee's breathing turn rhythmic from sleep.

She sighed sleeplessly before grabbing her phone from the side table. Without a second thought she unlocked it and let the screen spill onto her face as she idly scanned through it. After a moment she gave up pretending to fool herself into thinking she was navigating with any other purpose than to find Sophie's contact. Her thumb scrolled through the thread of unanswered calls and texts. It had been a constant presence the two months following the parade attack until one day they stopped. Her last missed call was from over four weeks ago. Her last unanswered text was from the same day.

"Drinks," came a muffled voice from across the bed.

"What?" Kate asked, startled by the interruption.

"Ask her out for drinks."

Kate locked her phone, as a scowl of disapproval appeared.

"That - I wasn't-"

"Oh, shut up and just do it already," Renee muttered before rolling away from Kate.


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a/n: hi all,
> 
> I'm not usually in the habit of defending what or why characters do things, but I feel a need to elaborate on what happened in the last chapter between Kate and Renee.
> 
> Like many of you, I think this plotline took me by surprise, but the more I sat with it, the more it made an obvious amount of sense for Kate: a lot has happened in three months. This includes being exposed to Fear Toxin, choosing to keep her relationship with Sophie at arm's length, and a growing perception that she's failing the city.
> 
> Kate's experience with the Fear Toxin, while left ambiguous at the moment, is a big factor in all of this because she is being confronted with the events that created the feelings and way of being she held before Point Rock. As a result, she's regressed into old habits; one which includes the temporariness of hooking up. In this, it would be naive to see Renee as her only one-night stand over the last few weeks. The difference with Renee appearing in The Hold Up is that it made her the perfect candidate to give Kate the outlet to toy with honesty, keep it casual, and, more importantly, feel like Sophie wasn't entirely gone from her life. It helps that Renee's no-nonsense but playful demeanor also provides the light Kate needs to fall out of her months-long slump.
> 
> This isn't necessarily made explicit because that's not how I write characters; you occasionally get a glance into their thinking, but I leave it to you to extrapolate on the how and why. In this last chapter, perhaps I made too big of a leap. I realize that I have an idea of what the characters are doing in the background and sometimes assume too much of you, the readers, in having that same insight. That I am actively bouncing between writing this current timeline and developing Kate and Sophie's characters through the prequels, I think, has had an impact here, too because, like you, I am slowly still discovering things about them as I go along. For me, that's been an interesting adventure: I have/had an idea of these characters when I started, but in looking at stories about their past, I've needed to tweak their present selves along the way.
> 
> If I did it again (which I won't), I'd sneak in another chapter to set the stage a bit more, but instead I hope the above sheds the necessary context and light onto it.
> 
> As always, thank you, thank you, thank you for sticking with this, and many thanks for your reviews and feedback. Replies to moments like the last chapter help keep me in check.
> 
> Cheers,  
> EQT.95

"Oh, I, uh - h-hey," Kate stuttered as she walked into the batcave.

"Hey," Luke said softly from behind the row of monitors.

"I uh… I didn't think you'd - I just mean, after the other night I didn't expect you'd be here."

"I think I've found where the-"

"I'm sorry," Kate interrupted as Luke looked up in surprise. "I… I can get a certain way about… well, about everything. It's gotten me in trouble before, and you were right to call me out for it. I'm not saying I can promise to change because… because I've made that promise before and have never once kept it."

"Kate-"

"But I want you to hold me accountable, Luke. You're the one person I trust enough to do that, and I'm sorry I didn't listen. I don't want to fall into this cycle where we're constantly at each other's throats over this, and I need to be a little less… less-"

"Of an asshole?"

"I think I was going to say 'stubborn', but… that works, too," Kate said with a smirk.

Luke smiled lightly back, shaking his head in amusement.

"Where is this coming from? Three days ago you were hellbent on being right."

Kate shrugged, "I got some persuasive life advice."

"Is that code for 'sex'?" Luke asked, eyeing her general demeanor with skepticism.

"There was talking, too."

Luke rolled his eyes. "Well as long as you didn't blow your cover again-"

"It's not like I use it as a pick-up line. Besides, Mary was practically on the team anyway," Kate responded defensively. "We go to her all the time for stuff. It was… you're messing with me, aren't you."

Luke nodded through his chuckle before he sobered slightly.

"You know I'm just worried about you, right?" Luke began. "After Bruce - he went too far, and I saw what that did to him. I don't want the same for you. I also don't want you dead, and after today's news, I-"

"What news?" Kate interrupted, her eyes narrowed in confusion.

"The rail gun. Hamilton Dynamics approved it for use in the field. And that - Kate, that's a game changer."

"This is perfect," Kate agreed, rushing up to the article Luke had just pulled up. Her eyes scanned it for the main points as a smile broke across her face. "Now we can call them in to round these punks up. We'll see how tough they are when the Crows roll in with these."

"That's, well, Kate that's what I wanted to talk about."

"You don't want me dead, I got it."

"No, I don't think you do."

"What? The Crows have the rail gun. They're on our side."

"No… Kate, they're…" he said, pointing to a large block of text in the article that Kate had skimmed over.

_As part of the City's statement of approval and support for the Crows involvement in the latest crime wave flooding the streets, a formal memo was released which indicated the following:_

_"The Crows have Gotham leadership's unequivocal support in these trying times. As an added measure, the City has granted the Crows approval to shoot on sight any masked bad actor."_

_When asked in follow-up whether the Mayor's statement was meant to include Batwoman, the Mayor's spokeswoman was unable to provide comment._

"So?"

"Honestly, Kate, sometimes I don't know if you're dense or… or-"

"Even if this is true, Sophie is still Lead Crow. She wouldn't give approval for this," Kate replied, ignoring Luke's dig.

"Perhaps she wouldn't, but I have one demolished building that says Sophie's not the only one who pulls the Crows strings."

Kate fell quiet as she weighed Luke's words.

"There's a joke here," she said finally.

"That's what you've been thinking about?" Luke gaped back, rising from his chair and crossing over toward one of the many shelves laden with aged and unused gadgets.

"But I am so close-"

"Kate."

"What?" Kate scowled at Luke for breaking her concentration.

"We need to get our hands on one of the rail guns," Luke said, scanning the items.

"It's fine without it," Kate insisted.

"It's untested. It's been sitting on a shelf for years," he continued over the noise of his digging.

"So you want me to do what exactly; find and disarm a Crow? You want me to steal back the very technology we just gave them? If they weren't prepared to shoot me on site before, doing this will definitely put me on that list."

"But at least then you'd be able to knowingly defend yourself," Luke said, returning to the desk with the small puck-like device in his hand.

"This is it?" Kate asked, plucking it from Luke's hand.

"Yes, and, _and_ ," he said, his voice straining as Kate tossed it up in the air like a baseball. "It's the only one we have."

"Hmm," Kate pondered, turning serious. "Can we make more?"

Luke sighed. "I knew you were going to ask that."

Kate grinned innocently.

"I'd need to take a look. Bruce wasn't the greatest at keeping his archives organized for quick access. Until then though, treat this like-"

"Like it's the only one, sure, sure," Kate said, bringing the puck-shaped item to her face to examine the smooth details of the discus more closely. "Can we make it red?"

"Your phone is blowing up."

"This little piece looks like it glows. Can it glow red?" Kate continued, smirking at Luke's unamused reaction as she grabbed her phone from the desk.

"How do you even get service down here?"

"I have the millionaire's cell plan."

"The what?"

"Wifi. I use the wifi," Kate smirked as she swapped the puck for her phone. Her smirk quickly faded when she read the incoming messages.

"What is it?"

"What? Nothing… it's - it's nothing," she said, trying to hide the glimpse of disappointment that flashed across her face.

Luke gave her a small look of disbelief as she slipped her phone into her pocket.

"So, red light. How easy is that to do?" Kate pivoted.

* * *

"Morning."

"Oh, hi," Sophie said with some surprise.

"Good weekend?" Renee asked lightly, reaching for a mug and the sugar.

"Well, if you count spending it here, it was a real blast," Sophie said, forcing her voice to seem like she wasn't annoyed at wasting another weekend interrupting Jacob's attempts to undermine her authority.

"He's a real asshole," Renee said bluntly, ignoring any pretense for professionalism and calling out the reason for Sophie's lack of work-life balance for what he was.

A smile of appreciation crept over Sophie's face before she glanced around to confirm they were alone. She knew the space was bugged by Cobblepot, but an unspoken truce had been struck between them until this rail gun issue was resolved.

"Are you ready for this morning's training session?" Sophie asked, unsure what other topic to bring up with her ex. They'd been professional in passing, but Sophie had felt terrible for the way she ended things, and she hadn't tested the waters as friends yet. A big part of that could be blamed on the Fear Toxin: Sophie had spent every day since the parade blast at the Crows headquarters. Her world had become one about negotiating the waning cast of Crows willing to enter the field, the politics of an impatient board, the timeline of an untested piece of technology and, worse of all, a former Lead Crow hell bent on getting his way. The idea of anything else had been sidelined or, worse, forgotten entirely. With the exception of the relationship with the sofa in her office, the idea of a relationship much less a friendship hadn't even crossed her mind.

"Uh, sure," Renee said lamely.

Sophie pretended not to notice Renee's obvious disinterest in the conversation. "Good, goo-"

"Have you talked to Kate?" Renee spilled out, interrupting Sophie's niceties.

"Uh…" Sophie began, thrown by the comment. It was the first non-work-related question she'd been asked by anyone in the building for weeks. On top of that, it was wildly out of left field and asked by the last person she'd expect. "Well, no."

Renee remained silent, waiting for Sophie to admit what she was holding back.

"I-I mean, I tried a few weeks ago an-"

"Yea, no, no, I mean recently. You two chat?"

Sophie looked uncomfortably back at Renee's seemingly innocent but unwavering query.

"She - we, uh, she messaged this weekend, actually."

Renee busied herself with the coffee pot and let the silence act as her follow up question.

"I uh - she asked if," Sophie continued before pausing. "...I told her now wasn't a good time."

Renee nearly dropped her mug in surprise. "You're shitting me."

Sophie recoiled at the look of intensity on Renee's face. She opened her mouth to mumble some half-hearted explanation but Renee beat her:

"What is wrong with you? Do you… why do you keep fucking this up with her?"

Sophie gaped back, dumbfounded by Renee's reaction. They'd shared less than fifty words in the last two months, but now she stood confronting her about the most intimate details of her life.

"Me? Wh-what about her-"

"We're not talking about her right now," Renee scolded before sighing in exasperation. "You two are just… you're the absolute worst."

"Renee, I… look, I appreciate that you… well that you support … uhm, _this_ ; especially after… after-"

"Yea, yea, after you broke up with me. We all remember," Renee said, waving her hand dismissively. "Fortunately I knew it was over before you did."

Sophie's cheeks burned at this, and she felt herself squirming under the unwavering gaze of Renee. It was an uncomfortable feeling to be left uneasy by a woman nearly five inches shorter than her, but Renee had a way about her.

"With everything going on, I just… I don't have the time to… to…"

"What did she want?"

"What?"

"What did she ask for?"

"She… drinks."

Renee rolled her eyes.

"What?" Sophie asked.

"You act like she was asking you to adopt an untrained monkey."

"I… is that a thing?"

Renee shrugged. "The point is that I think you can carve out two hours for a couple drinks."

"I… I just think-"

"Fine, one hour for one drink."

"It's not just-"

" _Fine_ , fifteen minutes and a shot."

"That isn't-"

"Sophie."

"I d-" Sophie froze with her mouth open, closing it when she could no longer stand the penetrating glare from Renee.

"Shut up, and just do it already."

* * *

"You realize there are like… a million more important things you could be doing, right?"

"Yea, but think about how cool it will be when it matches my suit," Kate remarked, her eyes pouring over a set of blueprints.

"It'll be cool until you try to use it, and it fails."

"The Cock Block won't fail."

"Can we call it something else?"

"No. Not a chance. It's perfect."

"Kate."

"What?"

"Your phone is blowing up."

"Mhm," Kate muttered, not letting Luke's comment distract her.

"Again. It's blowing up again."

"It's always blowing up," Kate said, not looking up from the files.

"Kate."

"What?"

"Would you - at least mute it. I can't concentrate with all of the… the-"

"The reminders of my undying popularity?" Kate asked, glancing up at Luke's unamused face with a poking grin. When his stare didn't fade she sighed in defeat before pushing away from the table she was at and wheeling over to the buzzing. She quickly skimmed for the source of the distraction, and her smirk quickly turned to a scowl before melting into surprise followed up by the reemergence of a smile.

"What?" Luke asked as Kate's gaze read and reread the message glowing on her screen.

"I… uh, I…" Kate mumbled. "It's-it's nothing."

"You only ever say that when it's something."

"Wha-?"

"Forget it."

Her thumbs hovered over the keys for a moment as she tried to craft a measured response that wouldn't betray the weight of nerves and excitement and terror she felt.

_K: tomorrow night sounds great_

* * *

"Going somewhere?"

Startled, Sophie turned toward the voice behind her. Jacob was leaning against the wall, his face carrying a small scowl of disapproval.

"Why, worried the walls will cave in without me around?" Sophie asked lightly.

"On the contrary. It'd be nice to get some real work done around here," Jacob shot back.

"I can't speak for your productivity, but the rest of us are making solid strides toward getting the task force back into field preparedness."

"This isn't golf."

"Sorry?"

"We can't all be evaluated with a handicap."

Jacob let out a chuckle of pleasure as Sophie's eyes narrowed in annoyance at his jab.

"Relax, Moore. Always so suspicious and uptight. It looks like I trained you right," he offered.

"A day without vigilance is-"

"The day you get shot," Jacob finished. It was a mantra from her training, and Jacob smiled at her reference of it. "Have a good night, Agent Moore."

"Goodnight, sir," Sophie said in a hesitated reply, wary that his conversational temperament was going to backfire on her.

* * *

"I can't," Kate said, grabbing her jacket.

"What do you mean you can't? Is it your leg? I… I thought you said it was fine," Luke asked in surprise.

"What? No, no, I just mean… I've got plans," Kate said, realizing he was referencing a skirmish from the night prior.

"You? Kate Kane? _You_ have plans?"

"Is that so hard to believe?"

"Ye-"

"Don't answer that."

Luke stared expectantly back at Kate.

"What?"

"Are you going to share any details or…?"

"No," Kate replied.

"Not even a-"

"No."

"But wh-"

"No."

"Fine," Luke pouted.

"See you tomorrow."

"Don't stay out too late - we have… and you can't hear me," he muttered as the sound of the elevator drowned out his words.

* * *

Sophie made it all of two blocks before the call she dreaded rang, deflating her mood and sending a thread of expletives from her lips as she answered it.

"What is it, Paulie?"

"Cobblepot just gave him emergency approval to continue training," Paulie whispered over the receiver.

Sophie took a deep breath to steady her anger. She knew her interaction with Jacob was too good to be true. She had preemptively suspended rail gun training for the night, and this was exactly what she was worried he would do. "It's fine. The next batch of trainees are-"

"Sophie, er, ma'am, he's changing the order."

"Who?" Sophie sighed, already knowing the answer.

"I don't think I need to tell you," Paulie said, admitting to her that Jacob was looking to fasttrack his circle of allies to gain access to the rail guns.

"I'll be back in five," she said before ending the call in frustration. She stared at her phone in disappointment. She'd spent the last three months in a power struggle with Jacob. It shouldn't have surprised her to think she could sneak out for an evening without him taking advantage.

She watched her phone dim from inactivity before she let out a sigh of defeat and unlocked it again, floating her thumbs over the keys in apology:

_S: Hey, this is super last minute, but a work thing came up. Raincheck? I'm really sorry,_

Her thumb pressed send, and with it came a wave of frustrated sadness. It was a predictable fate that had her plans with Kate cancelled, and a worry floated past her as she wondered how many chances she'd have before Kate's lack of responses would remain permanent.

A ping seconds later dissuaded her doubts for a moment as she scanned Kate's reply:

_K: Don't worry about it. How about Thursday?_

Sophie smiled in relief, rereading the message for fear the words might warp into a secret rejection. Instead they remained static, and Sophie quickly replied in affirmation:

_S: Thursday is perfect._

With any luck, the rail gun training and approval sessions would be finished by midday Thursday, and Sophie would

* * *

"I thought you were taking the night off," Luke said, not glancing up from the journals in front of him.

"Change of plans. Where can I start?"

"'98."

"1998? I was eight."

"And I was six," Luke remarked. "Your point?"

"It's just weird to think that Bruce was out fighting crime every night. It never once occurred to me that he was up to anything."

"You were eight. Eight year-olds aren't supposed to interrogate everyone in their lives," Luke said with only mild interest in Kate's remarks.

"What about your dad?"

"What about him?"

"When did you find out about him and Bruce?"

"I was in high school," Luke said simply.

"Really? How?"

"I was interning at Wayne Tech; they have a summer program-"

"I'm familiar," Kate said. "But I thought it was for college students."

"It is, but-"

"But you're a genius who-"

"Dad persuaded Bruce to let me shadow one of the interns for the summer," Luke continued through Kate's interruption. "Halfway through they kicked out one of the recruits and asked me to take her place."

"Her?" Kate repeated in slight surprise.

"Uh, yea, I think so. Why?"

She shook her head, waving her hand for him to continue.

"Right, well, long story short, I stayed late one night and was trying to find my father and managed to stumble onto him and Bruce-"

"You just stumbled onto Bruce's secret?"

"Well, I may have… snuck into Bruce's office…"

"Oh really?" Kate asked, a smile creeping over her face.

"...and into the batcave…"

"Luke, you sly Fox. And to think you tried calling the cops on me when I did the same thing."

"You were literally breaking and entering."

"And you were doing what, exactly?"

"I was already inside," Luke grinned back.

* * *

"Found it!" Luke called out in success.

"Finally," Kate moaned in complaint. "One more page of Bruce's shitty handwriting and I was going to take my chances on the one."

Kate rose from her spot and walked over to Luke who was reading intently through pages of Bruce's journal.

"Will it work?"

"I'm… I'm looking."

"Can we make more?"

"I literally just found it."

"What about making it red?"

" _Kate_."

"Ok, ok," she said, raising her hands in surrender. She stood in his peripheral as he diligently read through the four pages of information.

"Yes," he said finally, removing his glasses to rub his eyes.

"To which question?"

"All of them," he answered.

"Even the red light?" Kate asked with a childish enthusiasm.

Luke chuckled with a tired sigh. "Your priorities are-"

"The heart and soul of this team?"

Luke could only shake his head in amusement at Kate's light-heartedness.

"Enough of this. Even if I understood all of these notes, I wouldn't have the focus to do anything tonight. I say we call it."

"What? But we just found the answer," Kate pressed.

"We _might_ have just found the answer. I'll need to look at this with fresh eyes tomorrow."

"Are you sure?" Kate glanced between Luke and the journals. "Maybe I'll hang back and-"

"You still aren't sleeping, are you?" Luke asked, sensing Kate's hesitation to leave.

"What? No, that's not-"

"How much are you getting?" Luke continued, not allowing Kate to deflect.

"I'm getting enough."

"How many hours?"

"It's not a problem-"

"Do you want me to hold you accountable or not?" Luke asked, his face serious as he threw Kate's words from earlier back at her.

Kate sighed in annoyance, recognizing she'd created this situation for herself.

"I can get a solid three before… well, before I can't," she admitted.

Luke nodded in understanding. He'd been exposed to her two encounters with Fear Toxin and knew the lingering impacts were wearing on Kate's ability to sleep. The circles under her eyes had long since become permanent, so it was difficult to notice initially, but once he had, it was a recurring conversation. It was the first time she'd admitted to being impacted by it which was it's own form of progress.

"You should talk to Mary. She might have something."

"It's fine. The dreams… it's fading; they're passing."

"No, Kate, it's not fine. Because every night you go without sleep is an added risk when you're in the field."

"I'll give it another week an-"

"Kate, wh-"

"And if after a week there's no improvement, I'll ask Mary," Kate finished.

"You have until Saturday, and then I'm calling her," Luke countered.

Kate sighed before nodding in agreement.

* * *

"You look cute."

"I… thanks."

"Any reason? Or are you just trying to look good for your sofa? You know, spice up that night life."

Sophie smirked at Renee's remark. "No, I, uh, actually I have plans tonight."

"Oh? I didn't know Sophie Moore was allowed out of her tower," Renee teased back. She watched in amusement as Sophie blushed lightly. "So, anyone I know?"

It was a loaded question. Over the last four days, Renee had managed to pop out of the woodwork like a wood nymph and regularly press Sophie with questions about Kate.

"You might. I think you spent the night with her once."

"What?" Renee gaped back. "Wh… n-why wou-"

"It was a joke," Sophie laughed at Renee's discomfort. "The night of the parade? You… we all were-"

"Oh, right, right," Renee said lightly. "So does this mean…?"

"Fingers crossed."

"Training is done; there's no reason tonight won't go as planned."

"You probably just jinxed it."

* * *

"There's at least thirty. You're completely surrounded."

Kate muttered a slur of curses in response. She was stowed away in an old warehouse that had just become the site of an unexpected meeting of the masses. Kate was many forms of brave, but Luke's initial body count left even her worried.

"It's ok. We'll just wait them out."

Kate sighed in frustration.

"Hey, look at it this way: there are worse ways to spend a Thursday night," Luke joked through the mic.

"Perhaps, but there are also definitely better ways to spend them," Kate said softly as the sound of boots in the surrounding area kept her quiet.

"Such as?"

Kate stayed quiet until she was confident of privacy.

"Can you do me a favor?"

"I'm not having a pizza delivered," Luke joked.

"Can you message Sophie?"

"You want the Crows in on this? Kate I know they have the rail gun, but you'd be in direct shot of-"

"No, no," Kate interrupted softly. "Can…" she sighed, "can you tell her I can't make it tonight? Make up some excuse - blame it on Ms. Thompson or a leak in the building or… or something," she said in reference to the latest tenant they'd signed and newest building they'd purchased.

Luke remained suspiciously silent at this.

"Luke?"

"I, yea, of course. Were you… Kate I didn't realize-"

"It's nothing."

"Had I known I wouldn't have suggested tonight's-"

"Don't be ridiculous. We needed to confirm the site was hot and… well, it's definitely hot."

"So was it like… like a date or…?" Luke asked after a moment.

"It was drinks," Kate admitted. "It wasn't anything… it was just drinks."

"Did you ask her or-"

"Luke."

"Ok, ok, sorry."

Silence fell between them as muffled voices through the wall confirmed the meeting of minds had started.

"I asked her," Kate offered once she realized any chance of hearing the voices was a lost cause. Luke didn't respond, but Kate imagined the nod of acknowledgement he was giving on the other side of the mic.

"Is she still with-"

"They broke up."

A soft 'oh' could be heard through her headset before the sound of furious typing became the white noise that filled the space between them.

"I have like, fifty more questions, but I also think I can capture the voices from the other room and clean them up to hear what they're saying.

"I vote that," Kate pleaded, knowing that Luke would take the opportunity to ask every conceivable question if given the chance.

Luke chuckled softly, "I figured you'd say that. It means you'll have to be quiet so I can record the sounds."

"Can do."

"But before we get to it: Sophie responded. She wants to know if tomorrow works."

"Yes. Yea, tomorrow is… that works."

* * *

"Haven't seen you in a while."

Kate froze at the sound of the voice, turning only to confirm they were alone. She found and pressed the familiar button on her utility belt before responding.

"You must not read the papers, then," she said casually, her voice cloaked from identifying. "I think I've managed a front cover photo op everyday this week. 'Gotham's Most Wanted,' right?"

"Except Tuesday; there was that article about the city-wide curfew splashed all over the front page."

"So you have seen me," Kate replied with a smirk.

"I think that depends on your definition of the word."

"What are you doing here, Sophie?" Kate asked.

"Checking up on a lead. You?" she answered casually.

"Last I heard, Crows weren't supposed to be in the field alone," Kate replied, ignoring Sophie's question and quickly scanning the surroundings. Kate wasn't ready to admit the City's guidance about 'masked bad actors' had her spooked, but Luke's voice in her ear to stay vigilant had her on edge.

"It's the docks, but I don't see anything," came Luke's voice in her ear. His reference was to his lackluster surveillance capabilities of the area, but Kate still felt herself relax.

"I came alone," Sophie advised, seeing the look of suspicion on Batwoman's face.

"Which then begs the question: what are you doing alone?"

"Since when did you get so suspicious of me," Sophie asked, her face a scowl of perplexity.

"Ever since you dropped a building on me," Kate replied dryly.

"That wasn't me-"

"Exactly," Kate said, pausing for Sophie to understand her meaning. It wasn't Sophie she doubted, it was the lack of complete control over the Crows that she was wary of.

When Kate's pointed stare didn't fade, Sophie sighed into submission. "We're tracking the movements of a former Arkham patient, and we received a tip he was sighted around here. I was already in the area so-"

"So you thought an evening stroll around Gotham's docks was in order? Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Kate asked, the voice modulator failing to conceal her frustration.

"We get about a hundred of these a day anymore, so it's mostly getting someone out here to check a box. I don't plan on being here long."

"Why? Hot date?"

"Hopefully," Sophie smirked back sending Kate's cheeks ablaze. "Besides, I've got backup," Sophie replied, bringing her hand to her waist where a newly minted rail gun was holstered.

Kate nodded in understanding when Luke's voice chimed in her ear: "You've got back up too, remember."

It was an unsolicited reminder that just because the Crows were armed to kill, that didn't mean Kate was without her own defense: she was armed to disarm. "Bruce's journals confirm it's legitimate even if we haven't tested it out," he continued. "Not that I'm suggesting you don't trust her..."

She looked toward the abandoned building, noting it looked like every other shell of a structure that sat unused and abandoned along the docks. "So what's the lead?"

Sophie eyed her skeptically before breaking into explanation: "We think there's a link between former Arkham inmates and the string of attacks. You're familiar with the Scarecrow?"

"I'm Batwoman, aren't I?"

"I didn't want to presume," Sophie surrendered. "He was admitted into Arkham years ago."

"Isn't he dead now?"

"Unclear. The Crows have access to Arkham's digital database, but Arkham has never converted paper files into digital copies so-"

"So you're saying any of Batman's old buddies aren't on the Crows radar?"

"It was a problem that was placed on the backburner when Jacob first negotiated access to the files. It didn't seem like an issue at the time because most of Batman's goons were in maximum security, aging, or dead."

"So you think the Scarecrow is behind this?"

"Not quite."

"Are you still tracking Butler?" Kate asked, hoping Sophie would offer up something more she didn't already know. Her and Luke had discovered the incomplete files weeks earlier but couldn't come up with a storyline that didn't result in Sophie finding out about Kate's secret. That left it a lingering hole in their working theory about Butler.

Sophie nodded as she began scouting out the space.

"Any connection there?"

"Aren't you supposed to be two steps ahead of me? Isn't that how this works?" Sophie asked, a look of curious amusement on her face.

Kate sighed at this; they were supposed to be. After months though, she'd been left to tracking random warehouses like this for leads.

"It isn't confirmed because we can't get the files, but a contact at Arkham has advised Dr. Butler became Scarecrow's primary doctor nearly ten years ago," Sophie continued, unprompted by Batwoman.

"Ten?" Kate asked.

"Yea, why?" Sophie replied.

"Might be a coincidence," Luke replied in Kate's ear.

"Butler's wife died ten years ago," Kate admitted.

Sophie fell silent in thought. "Do you think it's correlated?"

"No idea. Apparently I'm two steps behind you," Kate replied, her eyes scanning the surrounding area. She motioned toward the lone interior door that led to the abandoned office space inside the warehouse. After testing the handle and meeting resistance, she paused to listen for anything from the other side before lifting her leg to kick it in.

Instead of an empty space, she was met with the bright flashes of gunfire, and Kate felt two bullets strike her chest, sending her backwards at the impact.

"Down!" she shouted to Sophie who only just managed to dodge the peppering of bullets that penetrated the office walls into the warehouse space.

"You ok?" Sophie shouted over the gunfire.

Kate nodded, still trying to catch the air that had been knocked from her chest.

"How did you not see him?" Kate hissed at Luke.

"It's the docks. You know my surveillance here is-"

"Shit. It's shit," Kate coughed.

"I'm working on it," Luke muttered.

Kate glanced across to the set of crates Sophie was crouched behind. They quickly made eye contact before silently agreeing Kate would pursue the noise once the gunfire ran out, and Sophie would provide back-up as she upholstered the rail gun. It was only seconds until the bullets ran out and Kate peered up over her own barriers. She saw the figure fleeing through a second door out into the main warehouse, darting for the far set of exit doors. She bolted after the form and heard the echo of Sophie's voice advise she'd wrap around to the front.

Fortunately the docks around the warehouse had limited means of egress. As Kate exited in pursuit, she was met with the deadend of a pier, and she realized the gunman would have been forced to circle back to the front.

Kate veered and rounded the corner to see the figure fleeing down the long, thin wood planks toward the main drive that tied the old warehouse buildings together. It was only seconds before Sophie appeared around the edge, her gun drawn. The gunman continued, unphased by the threat of the gun and charging directly for Sophie. It was clear he didn't know this firearm was unique, but Kate did. She slowed, realizing she was in Sophie's direct line of fire if she missed the gunman. She watched as the gun began to glow with a low blue light, and she felt her breath catch as she registered the gun's fire. She flinched slightly before realizing the fire was one of warning. It was aimed at the wood slats of the path directly in front of the fleeing figure, and it obliterated the old planks into splinters.

The shot caused the figure to immediately halt, as he realized the weapon Sophie wielded was not any normal gun. He lifted his hands in surrender, throwing a monologue of curses and pleas toward Sophie that echoed against the night. It took Kate a moment to recover from the sight of the shattered wood before she closed the distance to the gunman and Sophie. By the time Kate arrived within earshot Sophie was in the process of cuffing him.

"Any buddies with you?" Sophie asked calmly, ignoring the spattering of insults spewing from the man's mouth. He was scrawny, made to appear buff only by the bullet-proof armor he wore over his chest, and appeared no older than mid-twenties.

"Got a name?" Kate asked.

"Jameson," Sophie said. "He's a recent release from Arkham. Has a habit of setting homemade bombs inside public mailboxes, don't you Karl?"

"Fuck you," he spat.

"He also isn't a fan of women," Sophie explained as she shoved him into a sitting position. She pulled out a spare set of cuffs and locked him to a railing before pulling out her radio to call in the capture.

"They're all the same," he hissed. "Worth nothing more than-"

"I think that's enough," Batwoman remarked. "Say another word and your mouth is going to have another reason to hate them."

He leered up in silence as Kate stepped away toward Sophie who was finishing up her call.

"So much for your plans," Kate offered in apology. She watched Sophie's eyes widen in realization of the time; she'd just stood Kate up. She uttered a small curse as she pulled out her phone again and stepped away from Batwoman.

Kate observed her cautiously as Sophie sighed in frustration, reading the messages Luke had sent on Kate's behalf while she was pursuing the inmate. Sophie furiously typed in reply, knowing she'd just blown the evening and hoping Kate was willing to overlook another delay.

"Sophie just said she wouldn't be able to make it," Luke chuckled in her ear.

"How drunk am I?" Kate muttered, hoping Luke was casting her in a good light. Images of his previous works describing her soirees were not known for making her appear likable.

"Don't worry, you're sober," Luke said after a moment. "I told her it was fine; you were caught up as well."

Kate offered a small 'mm' in thanks as Sophie approached. "Raincheck?"

Sophie sighed at Kate's comment.

"She'll understand," Kate said confidently. When Sophie didn't reply she took it as a sign not to push. "So, I'm guessing you've got back-up coming."

"They're three minutes out," Sophie said simply, her gaze on Karl Jameson.

"Well, that's my queue, then. If he says anything interesting, would you…?" Kate asked, pulling her grappling hook from her belt. Sophie nodded, understanding Batwoman was just as leadless as the Crows were. If they were going to catch these guys, they needed to start coordinating.

Kate smiled in thanks, lifting the grappling hook to shoot before pausing. She turned back to Sophie. "You should really be more careful; don't go out alone again."

Sophie looked like she might retort with something sarcastic before she met Kate's eyes and understood the severity in them. She nodded in agreement before a fire from Batwoman's hook propelled her away from the scene.

* * *

Kate stepped out of the steaming shower, having taken the opportunity to let the hot water wash away her thoughts. It had been two hours since the incident at the docks, and while it certainly wasn't remotely close to the most physical altercation she'd had in the last few weeks, she already felt the familiar knock of sleep on her eyelids. She shook herself of it, knowing it was still too early to let herself fall into her temporary state of sleep. Three weeks had taught her that falling asleep too prematurely meant hours of aimlessness in the early hours of the morning.

She ran the oversized towel through her hair, sending it into untamed directions before slipping into a pair of sweats and a t-shirt. The steam from the bathroom spilled into the main space as she navigated toward the kitchen, her sights set on the bottle of whisky on the counter when a knock on her door rerouted her attention. She sighed, wondering what her latest tenant could possibly have to complain about now. She was a nice lady but was starting to become a nuisance to Kate's privacy. The latest complaint was that the water coming out of the hot taps was too hot.

"Ms. Thompson," Kate began, shouting through the door as she unlatched it, "I thought we agreed I'd check your- Soph?"

"Hey."

"Hi."


	26. Chapter 26

"Hey."

"Hi," Kate replied dumbly back at Sophie.

"You have neighbors."

"Uh, I do."

"That's new."

"Yea, she's-"

"Rose?"

"Ruby."

"She seems nice. Might be a borderline racist."

"Luke said the same," Kate added.

"But she let me in, so... can't be that bad, right?"

"Uhm, yea... what are you-"

"Sorry, I-I know it's late to just drop by, but… I… I was leaving work and couldn't stop thinking about - uhm about… look, I don't know what this," she began, gesturing between herself and Kate, "is or-or isn't but I don't… I don't want to mess it up. The last few days haven't set a great trajectory for anything, and I just want to ask… to make sure that you aren't going to… that you aren't going to up and vanish again. Because the last time you did, it lasted four years, and then… and then it was three months of nothing, and I'm not sure what I did or-or didn't do, but I've missed you, and at this point I don't really care what or-or how, but I want you back in my life and-and… I..."

"Do you want to come in?" Kate asked, stepping back to give Sophie access.

"I… I can't; I just wanted to… well, honestly I just wanted to see you," Sophie admitted. "And to say 'hi' but it turned into a garbled word salad of-of just… utter nonsense."

"It was cute," Kate said, offering Sophie a small smile before backing into the space and walking toward the kitchen, leaving the door open and a blushing Sophie standing just outside of it.

"Are you hungry?" she called back.

"Uh… no," Sophie replied, shaking herself of Kate's last comment.

"Drink?"

"No, no, I wasn't- I'm- I need to get going. I've got-"

"You sure?" Kate asked from across the room.

Sophie leaned against the doorframe, knowing that if she entered the space it'd be another hour of lost sleep, and she was running on fumes.

"I'm… Kate, I appreciate-"

"Can't hear you," Kate called from the kitchen.

"I'm not coming in," Sophie said, raising her voice. "Kate can y-"

"Hey, can you keep it down? It's late, and I have neighbors."

Sophie felt a grin break across her face as she shook her head in forced annoyance. She caught the smirk play across Kate's own face at her successful manipulation of the situation which only set a wider smile on her own.

"Kate, I am exhausted. If I come in I'll just end up passing out on your rug or… or-"

"Dresser? Kitchen table? Bath tub?" Kate offered with a continued grin.

"You joke, but that is not outside the realm of possibility."

"I've already poured you a drink. If you leave now-"

"I'm sure you can handle a double on your own," Sophie interrupted.

The two shared a staredown from across the flat.

"Fine," Sophie sighed much to Kate's enjoyment. "But one and then I'm-"

"Leaving, yes, yes," Kate waved off, meeting Sophie in the middle of the flat with a pour of caramel liquid.

It was only then that Sophie took notice of the latest upgrades to the space. The kitchen was finished and properly furnished. There was still a questionable transition where the flooring fed into the main seating area, and lighting fixtures were clearly still a work in progress, but overall it was a vast improvement from months earlier. "This looks… this looks really good, Kate."

"You even said that sober," Kate joked back. "I can't imagine what you'll say after your second drink."

"There won't be a second," Sophie corrected.

"Mhm, sure," Kate nodded as she brought her own glass to her lips and made her way to the couch, collapsing onto the far edge of it. She glanced up at Sophie who remained standing; her coat on, bag hanging off her shoulder, and glass in hand. "You can, like, take off your coat if you want. Your fate isn't sealed to eternity if you do that."

Sophie sighed into a chuckle as she accepted Kate's prompt. She slipped her jacket off and set it on the back of the bar chair before walking toward the chair across from Kate missing the glance of disappointment that flashed across her face as Sophie sat down opposite her, a coffee table now situated between them.

"If I don't get more than three hours of sleep tonight because of you, I'm going to-"

"Is it that bad?" Kate asked in surprise.

Sophie opened her mouth to complain before she caught herself and adjusted her composure. "It's been challenging. But it's fine; we are making solid progr-"

"Why do you do this?"

"Do what?"

"Why do… Your face says it all, so why don't you just tell me what's actually going on?"

Sophie scowled in annoyance.

"I thought field operations had been suspended," Kate continued, prodding at Sophie's stubbornness.

"They haven't been suspended - just reduced."

"So why the crazy hours?" Kate asked, interrogating the exhaustion on Sophie's face that she hadn't noticed minutes earlier.

"There's more to the Crows than just coordinating field operations."

"You've got that new gun technology - from Hamilton, right? That should help wi-"

"It isn't - that isn't why…" Sophie interrupted, breaking from Kate's pointed questioning. She felt her eyes close briefly knowing that Kate's tactics had once again worked before sighing into an explanation: "Jacob hasn't taken to his position of second in command well. And the board isn't thrilled that I haven't approved the rail gun for field use which gives him ammunition to undermine my authority."

"Undermine? How?"

"You remember that night Luke poured over the bylaws and we found out that two board members can override a suspension?"

"Yea, that's how Zienko got reinstated, right?"

"Right, well, apparently it's universal."

"Meaning-?"

"Meaning every time I do something your dad disagrees with, he gets Margaret Cobblepot on the phone and vetoes my decision by using their combined votes."

"That's such… that's such bullshit."

Sophie nodded in exhausted as she fell back into the chair, removing the last of the facade she'd been carrying for weeks.

"Is there any way around that? Can… I don't know, can you veto a veto with two other board members?"

"Even if I could I'd be hard pressed to find anyone who would put themselves on the line for it."

"So he's effectively in charge?" Kate asked, her tone exposing a worry she'd been trying to conceal. What started as an inconsequential conversation was beginning to carry far more weight to her alter ego than expected.

Sophie noted this, pausing at Kate's reaction briefly before elaborating. "Yes and no. It's complicated, but basically he won't challenge my position if I'm present. As long as I'm physically on premise or in the middle of an operation, he won't try to override my direction. He will only do it when I've left the facility; that's the only way he'll get Margaret to go along with it."

"I don't understand."

"Cobblepot isn't about to undermine the board's decision to keep me as Lead Crow. As tenuous as that has been, the board is behind me. So, that means she won't side with Jacob unless she can argue it's being done because I'm unavailable, which means I've had to make sure I'm always available. When I'm not though, she signs off on Jacob's whims because she argues he is the acting Lead Crow in my absence, and any change in policy or direction is warranted because I'm not there to say otherwise."

"So what, you're just always at the office?" Kate asked, understanding the extent Sophie must be going to keep Jacob at bay.

"Let's put it this way: my house plants might be dead," Sophie replied with a soft chuckle. "It's fine. It's temporary. I know I won't be Lead Crow for forever; I'm just biding my time until I inevitably lose the board's backing. I just wish it didn't mean fighting Jacob's relentless efforts to undermine me."

"Like what? What is he trying to do behind your back?" Kate asked, trying to keep the conversation ambiguous.

"Let's just say that if he had it his way, every man, woman, and child would have a rail gun under their pillows at night."

"That's a little extreme, but I get the sentiment," Kate challenged.

"You're not serious," Sophie disagreed.

"Didn't Hamilton approve the gun over a week ago? It should be in the field by now," Kate continued.

"That is… Kate, it takes training and time and there are logistics to putting out a new piece of technology like that-"

"None of that should take weeks to deal with. The Crows should be out there right now hunting down these guys."

"Where is this coming from?" Sophie asked, feeling the hint of an argument sneaking into the conversation.

"I mean… I'm not on the board anymore so my opinion doesn't matter, but people are getting hurt. I just don't understand what's taking so long to do anything about it," Kate continued. She noted her own tone was becoming accusatory, but after weeks of fighting alone as Batwoman, her frustration was beginning to show.

"And more people will get hurt if these things fall into the wrong hands," Sophie replied.

"They have five shots, Soph. If they fall into the wrong hands it's not like they have limitless power," Kate continued.

"Yea, well it only takes one," Sophie shot back. "These things are powerful, Kate. Yes, it's temporary, but in the wrong hands they could do real damage."

"Better a temporary fallout than letting the city live in continuous fear of-"

"Wait. How… how do you know it only has five shots?" Sophie interrupted, a scowl of confusion on her face.

"What?"

"The gun; how do you know there are only five shots?"

Kate stared back blankly for a moment before a reply came: "It was… I must have read it somewhere. In an article or… the Gotham Gazette, maybe."

"Shit," Sophie muttered.

"What - why?"

"We didn't want that to leak. I mean, obviously it was going to, but... not this soon. It might be used to their advantage."

Kate nodded in understanding, feeling a pang of regret for sending Sophie down a path of concern and uncertainty with her lie. She watched Sophie take her first sip from the glass as she fell into contemplative silence.

"So does that mean the gun is almost ready or d-"

"What happened?" Sophie interrupted, looking up from her drink toward Kate. Her gaze was focused, and it briefly hid the exhaustion that hung on her face.

"I… what do you mean?" Kate asked, knowing full well what Sophie was implying and wishing she had poured Sophie something less riddled with memories of their relationship.

"With us. With.. you just… where did you go for three months? You just stopped responding to my calls or-or messages or-"

"I thought that's what you wanted," Kate said softly, her head turned in feigned confusion. "After the call and the-"

"Kate, wh…" Sophie gaped back in bewilderment. "I thought… how was it not clear that… that the conversation we had didn't… I came to your place."

"But only because you thought I was dead," Kate said, recalling the night of the parade, and beginning to formulate the basis of her argument. "As far as I knew, that didn't change the conversation."

"And what was it about my twenty unanswered calls, voicemails, and text messages that had you believing that didn't change the conversation?" Sophie challenged back.

Kate fell silent at Sophie's words, dropping her gaze to her glass. She had expected this conversation to come up, but a part of her had hoped it would be under the dim glow of a public bar with the haze of alcohol to soften the confrontation. She felt a sense of irony at the situation: her flat was un-fixtured and cast in low lighting, and there was alcohol present; the problem was that none of it had hit Sophie Moore's bloodstream yet.

"Did I do something to… to-?"

"What? No," Kate answered easily.

"Then what was it?"

"There's just been a lot going on with the… the renovations and, I was… I was just going off the phone call we'd had," Kate scrambled together.

"Why do you do this?" Sophie asked, throwing Kate's words from earlier back at her.

"Do what?"

"Why do you still try to lie to me?"

"I-I don't know," Kate admitted with a sigh of surrender, and for a moment Sophie's demeanor softened.

"Kate I just… I just want to understand because I don't like this."

"I know," Kate said, feeling conflicted by the whole conversation.

"So what was it?"

"Renee," Kate said simply. Her memory flashed to their conversation from months earlier when Renee had confronted her about her feelings for Sophie.

"Renee?"

"Yea."

"I don't understand."

"Well you two were together-"

"Kate… Wh- we broke up the day after the parade attack."

"What?" Kate asked, unable to hide the surprise. "You… really? I-I didn't realize-"

"You never listened to any of my messages, did you?" Sophie asked, her voice filled with exasperation and relief.

Kate shook her head. "Maybe the first few words but… I-no, sorry."

"So for three months you just… just…" Sophie began, unable to find the words, "you just thought I didn't deserve an explanation? I mean, what… what happened?"

"The night of the parade - you were asleep, and Renee was there, and we got to talking."

"About what?"

"About… she told me you told her about what happened."

Sophie glanced away in understanding. Sophie had brought Renee into the world of Point Rock and all the complications that went with it.

"And I was just… she had her doubts, and I realized it didn't work to be around if you wanted to give that relationship a real try," Kate said. It was a half-truth, and that made it easier to weave convincingly into the larger story.

"So why reach out now? What changed?"

"Uh, well, Renee, actually," Kate said.

"Renee?"

"She was… I ran into her at The Hold Up. She was flirting with some girl, and then she saw that I saw, so she explained you two had broken up."

"When was this?"

"Last week… Friday?" Kate replied, searching her memory for the day.

Sophie didn't immediately reply as she began piecing together Renee's Monday morning prompt.

"Why?" Kate asked.

"You messaged me in the middle of the night Friday."

"Not the greatest timing, but yea…" Kate mused.

"You had no idea we'd broken up until Friday?"

"No," Kate answered honestly, polishing off her drink and standing to get a refill.

Silence fell between them as Sophie contemplated Kate's response.

"So... you ran into Renee, found out, and then you just decided to message me for drinks?"

"Yea," Kate said with less confidence than her lies usually had, walking back over with the bottle of whisky.

"Why?"

"Hm?" she asked, reaching the bottle's neck to Sophie's glass and adding a splash.

"Why are you lying?"

"I mean, we chatted for a bit," Kate continued vaguely.

"Who?"

"Renee."

Sophie could barely contain a smirk as she shook her head in mock disapproval. "You're unbelievable."

"What?"

"You _chatted_ for a bit?" Sophie asked as she watched Kate's cheeks catch fire.

"Yea, she had… there was a whole - a whole thing with expanding the bar and-and-and we-"

"I don't need the details," Sophie said, waving her hand to quiet Kate's stammering. She felt a well of emotions - jealousy, anger, disappointment - as she imagined Kate with someone else. She let these feelings play out in her mind of a moment before logic caught up and she quickly reminded herself she'd done the same for years. It didn't stop the small pang of jealousy that hit her, but she brought her glass to her lips and let the bite of the whisky wash it away.

"It wasn't - I didn't-"

"Kate, stop. Please don't explain," Sophie interrupted. "That is the last thing I want to hear about."

"I'm sorry."

Sophie froze, her mouth open ready to interrupt Kate again. An apology was unexpected, and she watched as Kate averted her gaze toward the empty fireplace as the words processed.

"Kate, I-" Sophie began, searching for words that matched her feelings. "I'm not… you don't need to apologize," she continued finally, abandoning any attempt to articulate her emotions.

Kate's face was strained with a detached worry as she kept her eyes on anything but Sophie. "She encouraged me to message you; Renee, I mean."

"That's funny."

"Why?" Kate asked, expecting Sophie to reply with something sarcastic.

"She did the same to me."

"Really?" Kate asked in surprise.

"On Monday."

"That's why you changed your mind," Kate said with a chuckle as she connected the dots.

Sophie nodded with a small smile. "She's got some guts."

"Well, I for one am glad."

"I can imagine," Sophie said.

"I didn't mean - I just meant that I'm glad she intervened. I don't think I'd have actually… I guess what I'm trying to say is that I m-"

A buzz interrupted Kate, and she turned to see her phone glowing with Luke's name. She stared at it for a moment, weighing whether to answer it. It was unlike him to call so late.

"You need to-?"

"It'll just be a minute," Kate apologized, lifting the phone to her ear and making a beeline for the door.

* * *

"Soph."

Sophie blinked awake, scanning her immediate surroundings: they were much dimmer than before. A single lamp illuminated the space, and Sophie tracked Kate's voice back to the hand on her arm.

"Hey, you dozed," Kate said softly.

"You let me."

Kate shrugged. "I'd do it again."

Sophie could barely contain her annoyance with a chuckle as she observed Kate's cheeky grin. "Kate, I… this isn't how-"

"Soph, it's fine. It's not like you didn't warn me. You did ruin my plans to host a rave tonight, but-"

"A rave? Yea, I'm sure Rose-"

"-Ruby-"

"Sure. Ruby seems like the kind of tenant who would endorse that."

"She looks like she partied in her day."

"That's the key phrase: in her day," Sophie joked back as she rubbed her eyes of sleep. "Ok, I need to go," she continued, glancing around for her phone and the time. "Have you seen my phone? I need to call a ride-"

"Soph."

"What?" she asked, feeling the annoyance of falling asleep creep into her voice. She didn't regret stopping by, but she knew by morning she'd be off her game, and the last thing she needed was to give Jacob another excuse to undermine her.

"You really should sleep more. You aren't twenty anymore," Kate insisted, not missing the irony in her own words.

"That's what I was trying to do earlier and then you - you… what time is it? How are you still awake?"

"Sorry?" Kate asked in confusion.

"What's your secret?" Sophie asked.

"My secret? I don't have a job," Kate lied easily with a soft chuckle, chalking Sophie's comment up to being disoriented from a lack of sleep. "Come on. Bed."

"What?"

"I've fallen asleep in this chair. It does not feel good in the morning."

"No, I'm not - I just said-"

"And you look like shit."

"I… I'm leaving _and_ you're an ass."

"An ass who isn't taking 'no' for an answer. You're not leaving at this hour. There's curfew, remember? Which you broke to get here, I might add."

"I was leaving the office; it doesn't count."

"You're only furthering my argument: this isn't your office. Now, up," Kate said, offering a hand to Sophie.

This stare down lasted a fraction of the time their first one did. Sophie crumbled into her exhaustion and sighed in frustration before standing in compliance, ignoring the hand Kate offered. It wasn't that Kate made a convincing argument, it was that Sophie realized cabs weren't running because of curfew.

"I threw some clothes on the bed."

"That isn't necessa-"

"Sorry in advance: they're grey," Kate said, interrupting Sophie's dismissiveness.

"What, no bright pink?" Sophie joked through a stifled yawn.

"No, but I _do_ have half a dozen toothbrushes in the bathroom drawer to choose from."

"Diane Moore raised you right," she said, accepting her fate and grabbing the clothes before stepping into the bathroom.

"Left drawer," Kate called as the door clicked shut.

It only took a few minutes for the door to reopen and Sophie to reappear in one of Kate's faded t-shirts and shorts. By then Kate had migrated to the kitchen where she was posted up at the bar with her laptop.

"I've never seen grey tooth brushes before," Sophie remarked.

"Diane Moore can influence my toiletry inventory, but she can't make me like colors."

_L: Parker found another hit. Sending location now._

_K: The Upper West Side?_

"Mhm, well your bathroom walls are mauve though, so-"

"That was Luke," Kate interrupted, scowling at her computer.

"Are you working?" Sophie asked as she glanced between Kate and the couch.

_K: This doesn't make sense._

_L: Agreed, but it checks all the boxes_

"For a bit. I'm behind on emails," she lied seamlessly.

"Ok, I-"

"Take the bed," Kate interrupted, sensing Sophie's hesitation.

_K: All of them?_

_L: Even owned by Delia Pflaum_

"No it's ok - you take it; I'll use the couch-"

"There's plenty of room," Kate continued, her focus on some concealed text on her screen.

"What?" Sophie asked in surprise. "You want to… what?"

_K: Bingo._

"What?" Kate asked, tearing her gaze from the text, confused by Sophie's confusion.

"N-nothing. It's… ok, uh, thanks."

_K: Would be good to double check though_

_L: Will do_

_K: No, don't; I'll take it from here_

"Mhm," Kate said, already staring intently back at her computer.

_L: You aren't thinking of going out tonight, are you?_

_K: No, something else came up. If Parker confirms, I'll check it out tomorrow_

Kate navigated the map on her screen to pinpoint the exact location Parker had provided. Over the last few weeks Luke had sent Kate from one location to another trying to track down what they speculated were greenhouses being used to grow the blue poppies. Unfortunately for them, every location was a bust: more often than not they were always abandoned. It was at the second location that Kate uncovered any evidence supporting their theory. Forgotten plant trimmings had been discovered, and Luke was able to confirm their identity with the assistance of Bruce's journals. They speculated that the greenhouses were being set up on a temporary basis, allowing for quick teardowns in case GCPD or Crows caught wind of their activities.

This discovery made them more confident they were on the right path, but figuring out the latest locations required access to current energy consumption which was impossible without hacking into Gotham Energy's servers. Kate realized that in order to get ahead of the blue poppy growth, they needed real time data. Enter Parker Torres, the spitfire teenager from Gotham Prep who outsmarted Alice and saved both her and Kate's life with some quick thinking. It had taken her less than a day to break into the energy meters throughout the city and provide on-demand readings, and even Luke had to admit she was a strong asset.

The strange thing about the latest intel was that the site was within a densely populated area of Gotham. It struck Kate as reckless to set up shop there, and she wanted Parker's confirmation before risking a run in with Fear Toxin around that many people. After firing off a message to Parker, Kate realized how much time had passed and glanced up to see Sophie was passed out on one side of the bed, feeling a small smile form.

Kate stood from the chair, her mind counting down the seconds till she could sleep when her eyes landed on her phone and one last interruption delayed her plans.

* * *

A cry woke Sophie from her sleep. She refamiliarized with her surroundings, half-wondering if she dreamed the noise when another soft cry turned her attention to the other half of the bed. She let her eyes focus for a moment on the curled form of Kate nestled under the blankets, studying her for signs of movement.

"Kate?" Sophie whispered softly. When no response came Sophie sat up and surveyed Kate. She was asleep, but her face was set in heavy scowl. In that moment Kate twitched and let out another set of indecipherable sounds before one was clearly articulated: Beth.

Sophie paused, absorbing the situation: she had spent years sharing a room and a bed with Kate, and never once had she shown signs of succumbing to nightmares. It took only a moment for her to piece together Kate's state with the pervasive after effects of Fear Toxin. A number of her field operatives were on medical leave from the same lingering impacts. She watched Kate for a minute longer, waiting to see if her mind would settle back into a peaceful state.

When instead another slur of sounds and cries cut through the darkness, Sophie juggled with whether to wake Kate or let her sleep through the nightmare. If the stories were anything to go off, Kate would eventually wake herself up anyway, and she weighed whether sooner than later was better.

She hesitated only a moment longer before deciding, even though that decision was filled with uncertainty: the line around their relationship had been drawn and redrawn so many times that Sophie wasn't sure where it currently existed, but it took only another small cry from Kate to risk crossing it.

She slid across the mattress, removing the space that existed between her and Kate before slipping her arm around Kate's waist. She pressed herself against Kate's body, feeling the warmth of her back radiate against her chest. It had been years, but the act was as familiar a gesture as anything Sophie could think of. She briefly pressed her lips onto the back of Kate's neck and heard Kate sigh into a calmer sleep. Sophie felt her lips curl up as she adjusted her head to rest on Kate's pillow.

She let her eyes fall closed, taking in the smell and comfort of Kate's presence when another single word escaped Kate's lips: "Soph?"

Sophie froze as Kate's whisper faded into the darkness. Kate's body tensed as s series of inarticulate sounds followed before another set of clear, discernible words: "Soph, don't… please don't go."

Sophie instinctively pulled Kate closer, realizing her comments were an extension of the dream. A small sob escaped Kate's lips, and Sophie felt her heart ache.

"Kate," Sophie whispered softly. She paused, feeling a mixture of foolishness at comforting her sleeping form and desire to protect and reassure Kate. "It's ok… it's… I'm not going anywhere."

Sophie's words felt empty as she replayed the scenes she imagined appearing in Kate's world. In that world those words never happened.

Minutes passed in silence as Sophie interrogated Kate's breathing patterns before feeling confident that whatever terrors were swimming around Kate's mind had passed for the moment. With it came a comfort that allowed her to succumb to her own dreamless sleep.

* * *

A familiar buzz stirred Sophie from her slumber. It took a few seconds to orient herself again to her surroundings: the space felt grander than she was used to, the blankets were different - softer, and most out of the ordinary was a sleeping Kate in her arms.

She uncurled her arm from Kate and reached over to the side table, quickly hitting dismiss on the alarm before sitting up and blinking in the dim light of sunrise bleeding into the flat. The rhythmic breathing of Kate next to her sent her into a wave of regret as she lifted herself from the bed, snagging her phone as she did and walking toward the bathroom. She unlocked the screen to light her way, taking the opportunity to skim through the siege of notifications she'd already received. Her thumb blindly swiped until three messages caused her to pause midstep:

_K: in case you're awake before me: dad's taking the day off. you should consider doing the same_

_K: and please don't be mad, but I get if you are - I think we both know I'd do it again either way_

_K: plus you looked like hell. get some rest, and thanks for stopping by_

Sophie looked back at Kate's curled form sleeping soundly in bed, and instead of the usual wave of frustration she'd feel at Kate crossing a line, she felt nothing but gratitude at the gesture. She couldn't remember the last day she'd taken off, and she wasn't about to let it go to waste. She glanced over at her jacket and bag carelessly adorning a chair and considered all of the to-do's she could strike off her list, but there was one option that beat all of them. Without a second thought she set her phone down and took the handful of steps back to the bed before sliding under the still warmed blankets next to Kate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all,
> 
> I hope you're enjoying this so far. I wanted to include a quick psa here: I'll be working on a throwback piece for a few weeks, so this main story line will get neglected for a bit until I wrap that up; if you're a fan of those, be on the look-out for it. Following with the pattern of the previous three, this next one will focus on Kate and Sophie's second year, fall semester at Point Rock. I've got a good chunk of it done, but I imagine it'll be another two-three weeks before I get back to this.
> 
> Cheers, EQT.95


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaand we're back.
> 
> Phew. I just checked, and it's been over two months since the main timeline got an update. Point Rock was a fun detour, but we need some main story love now. I had to go back and read a few chapters myself to get the gears churning for this latest chapter. It ended up being much beefier than I bargained for, but hey, go big or go home, amirite?
> 
> Cheers,  
> EQT.95

Kate stirred. She let the weight of her eyelids draw her back toward the grips of sleep for a few moments longer, letting her brain slowly wake up. The process felt foreign, and it took a moment to realize she couldn't recall the last time her day hadn't started with bolting awake, drenched in sweat and gasping for air. Over the last week there had been signs the symptoms of the Fear Toxin were waning, but it hadn't stopped the untimely wake-up call from occurring.

But not today. Today she felt a comfortable pull pacifying those symptoms into a relaxed and content limbo-state, dozing between awake and sleep. She faded in and out like this for a few minutes while her mind slowly whirred awake, and memories of the night before started reappearing. The conversation with Luke came to the forefront of her mind as thoughts of Butler and Delia Pflaum reminded her of the day's upcoming agenda: she needed to check out a property on the Upper West side. Parker's feedback had confirmed the location of a possible blue poppy operation, and, while she'd have to wait until dusk to give it a thorough search as the vigilante, she planned to swing by as Kate Kane before that. Luke had managed to set up a last minute viewing of a building on the same block the day before when Parker's initial intel had been forwarded through. That Parker's confirmed it again meant the viewing was the perfect opportunity to scope out any unsavory activities in daylight.

These thoughts slowly meandered to the rest of the night, and a slow, strange realization crept up on Kate as she opened her eyes fully for the first time: it was midmorning, and the sun was creeping into the space. She'd stopped drawing the blinds because she never slept in past sunrise anymore, and this only emphasized how abnormal the morning felt. She blinked, disoriented for a moment, but as her awareness grew, all of her senses shifted into high gear. She was in her flat… in her bed, but something was different. That something, she realized, was the presence of a soft, warm body curled around her, and this was enough to send the other half of the night flooding through her mind; Sophie Moore had been in her flat… _was_ in her flat… was in her _bed_ … was _still_ in her bed.

Her heart rate skyrocketed, and she wasn't sure if it was because she was terrified, shocked, or exhilarated by this. She'd half expected to be pulled awake hours earlier by an angry Sophie after learning Jacob would be taking the day off. That this hadn't happened was one thing, but that she stayed was altogether something else. As though sensing the quickening of Kate's pulse, Sophie's arm, in a mid-slumber state, adjusted more securely around Kate. She froze, unsure if she wanted to resist or melt into this reassuring hold.

For all of the excitement that this simple gesture caused, she suddenly felt a hesitation swell in her. A tiny voice began monologuing her with criticism for letting this happen. She had reached out to Sophie, wanting to rekindle… _something_ of their past relationship, but what that was exactly she didn't know. She'd assumed things would go slow - that nothing drastic could or would happen between them. Under that assumption though had been a yearning for something to jumpstart the whole thing. But now that Sophie was here, sleeping next to her, she felt panicked by it all.

The feelings of comfort from moments earlier were quickly washing away. An uneasiness filled her as memories of conversations with Luke and the little voice in her head repeated themselves: a relationship was dangerous. While there had been occasions of both encouraging her to pursue this very thing, she was also conscious of every other consideration that had kept her sidelined from crossing that line with Sophie for weeks, months, years even.

That Batwoman was her night job only solidified her trajectory to deflect her feelings toward Sophie. Whenever a 'what if' whispered in her ear, the tiny voice in her head quickly disarmed it with the fact that, even if past transgressions could be forgiven, 'Batwoman' couldn't be overlooked. There were people who knew her identity under the cowl. Bad people. People who could use that knowledge against her. Allies like Mary and Luke were fine, but she thought of Mouse, Beth, and any number of their gang who knew. Then there was Tommy Elliot who had all but admitted to knowing, or at least suspecting the correlation. Given his role in the stealing of the batsuit technology, that wasn't something to gamble with. Even Parker knew. While she didn't doubt Parker could keep a secret, that same trust didn't apply to the other three - and those were just the ones she knew about.

In hindsight, it felt reckless to have allowed so many who knew her identity to roam freely. The slip of a tongue or a desire for revenge could put not just her but the people closest to her in danger. For the last three months she had become consciously aware of every insignificant detail she'd let slip to people - strangers she helped. In the wrong hands, every scrap of personal information could spell disaster.

Even an aspect of her had grown to regret the story Kara Danvers had written at her behest. It was just another detail that could be traced back to her identity. While she didn't regret the impact it had with people like Parker, it did make her second guess how loosely she'd played with her identity months ago. Perhaps it was naivety on her part, but she didn't ever imagine public opinion or scrutiny would reach the levels of hatred it had, and now that a gang of armor-clad, gas-wielding cronies were terrorizing the streets, the public was taking on a new level of interrogation.

Paranoid hadn't quite begun to describe how she perceived new and old threats, but after seeing the editorials and anger directed toward Batwoman following the parade attack, she had become more conservative than even Luke at keeping her identity unknown. Through practice, she'd managed to create a moat between Kate Kane and Batwoman.

And yet she had messaged Sophie. She'd let the news that her and Renee were broken up blind her to all of those concerns and more. It was a moment of weakness she let play out for days, and she mentally chastised herself for it. Now, on the cusp falling into something intimate, she realized it needed to stop. She needed to break this trajectory. The problem now was trying to decide if there could be a relationship as something less.

The smallest sigh of resignation left Kate's lungs before she slipped out of Sophie's hold and climbed out of bed.

**xx**

Sophie felt the sun against her eyelids as her second round of sleep came to a slow end. The sound of footsteps caused her to stir fully, and she opened them to see daylight being cast through the space. She noted with a pang of sadness that the spot next to her was empty and the form that had previously been there was occupying the kitchen, scowling at her laptop just as she had been the night before. The sound of Sophie shifting under the blankets caused Kate to turn her attention to the bed.

"Hey," she greeted with a small smile, betraying her look of seriousness from a moment earlier.

"Morning."

"I think you mean 'afternoon'," Kate grinned back.

"You're joking."

"Only if you live on the west coast-"

"What?" Sophie asked, sitting upright and making a note of how high in the sky the sun sat.

"Which we don't so-"

"Why didn't you wake me?"

"And miss out on the chance to razz Sophie Moore for sleeping past noon? No thank you," Kate chuckled. Sophie grabbed her phone from the nightstand, realizing Kate must have placed it there earlier and that it was in fact well past noon. She let out a sigh of frustration as she realized half of her day off was lost and that she'd now monopolized Kate's flat for hours. In her distraction she failed to notice Kate walking toward her until a steaming mug was placed where her phone had just been.

"Coffee?"

"Uh, y-thanks," Sophie replied, glancing up at Kate who was offering the same amused grin from earlier. "I'm sorry, I should have-"

"Soph, it's ok. It helped."

"Helped?"

"Yea. You don't look like shit anymore," Kate teased.

"Always the charmer aren't you… wait, how long have you been up? Have you been out?" Sophie asked as she took in Kate's attire.

"Yea," Kate replied simply.

"Oh, where did y-"

"I didn't have milk."

Sophie glanced at the mug of steaming coffee, tanned by the splash of milk in it. She smiled softly as she watched Kate walk back toward the kitchen where she knew a cup of black coffee awaited her.

She crawled out of bed, snagging the steaming mug as she went, and joined Kate in the kitchen. Nose deep in her emails and messages, she sighed as the pull of the job nagged for her attention.

"Just ignore them," Kate offered, casually closing her laptop at Sophie's arrival.

"Oh?" Sophie smirked. "Was that your strategy as liaison?"

"What? It worked, didn't it?" Kate snickered.

Sophie rolled her eyes, knowing full well that Kate had done anything _but_ ignore messages related to the Crows. She may have been flaky and had a tendency to drop communication in the middle of a conversation which drove Sophie to a new kind of madness, but there wasn't a single message Kate had missed or ignored as a board member.

"I need to hop downstairs for a bit to deal with Ms. Thompson's hot water problem, but-"

"Of course, yea, I'll get going," Sophie said, suddenly feeling like a burden.

"Oh, no - I mean, sure," Kate said, her intentions flustered by Sophie's response. "I just… y-you're welcome to, uh, you can also stay… if-if you want."

"No, that's ok," Sophie replied, wanting more than anything to stay but feeling the weight of responsibility pull her into action. "I've held your morning hostage an-"

"And you have funeral arrangements to make for your plants?" Kate joked, deflecting Sophie's rejection with their typical banter.

"That and laundry. And I need to clean… I should clean and do normal adult things like go grocery shopping," Sophie replied, starting to feel overwhelmed by all the things she'd let slip over the past weeks. "I'm sure everything in the fridge has soured, and-"

"I'm making lamb," Kate interrupted, surprising herself with the words. The surprise was mirrored on Sophie's face. An awkward moment passed, and Kate looked like she might pivot entirely but continued: "For, uh, for dinner. Tomorrow, I mean - not tonight. Luke is coming over. Mary, too, maybe. There's going to be plenty."

"Grandma Kane's lamb?" Sophie asked, intrigued by Kate's words.

"Is there any other kind?"

Kate watched Sophie's mind buzz with thoughts. "Dinner's at seven. What you do between now and then is… it's up to you, but I would… uh, you're welcome to join - the invitation is there."

"It sounds amazing, but I'll have to pass. A day off today means I'll definitely be at the office late tomorrow."

"Right. Uh… about that… uhm-"

"Kate."

"Ok, don't be mad-"

"I can count on one hand the number of times those words coming out of your mouth hasn't done just that," Sophie scowled back.

"He's taking the whole weekend."

"Who? Jacob?"

Kate nodded, prepared for an angry retort but, just as one hadn't come hours earlier, an upset Sophie was missing from this exchange, too.

"But how-?" Sophie asked, clearly thrown by this news.

Kate shrugged noncommittally, letting her attention be drawn to a sip from her mug.

"How did you get your dad to take an entire weekend off?" Sophie repeated, formulating her words fully this time.

"Oh, uh, you know."

"No, that's why I'm asking. He hasn't taken a day in months - two days means hell has frozen over or a soul was sold," Sophie continued.

"We don't live in Georgia."

"Very clever."

"Do you think they ice skate down there?"

"With the exception of you, I've never met anyone as stubborn as him," Sophie continued, ignoring all of Kate's familiar tricks.

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"Wasn't meant to be. But I guess makes sense; he is-"

"-my dad?" Kate chuckled. "Yea, that might be a factor."

"So?"

"So, what?"

"So, how'd you do it?"

"I just called in a favor."

"Kate."

"A magician never reveals."

"As long as it wasn't illegal."

Kate shrugged into another sip of her coffee. "Is that a yes?"

"Hm?"

"About the lamb."

"Oh, well since you've basically pulled out the trump card," Sophie remarked with a scowl, her mouth watering in memory of the Kane family staple. She watched Kate shrug again like a broken record. "Getting your dad to call in sick? Grandma Kane's lamb? You know there are easier ways to woo me, right?" Sophie joked.

"Really? So my multi-month plan of having a Batman-caliber cronie infest Gotham with a mystery gas to force you and the Crows to work till exhaustion only for me to swoop in with an invitation to get drinks _knowing_ you'd have to bail over and over until you finally appeared on my doorstep one rainy night late enough that you could do nothing but pass out was a bit overkill?"

"I lost you a little in the middle, but yes - that was a terrible plan."

"And yet it worked brilliantly." Kate smirked.

"Minus the part where it didn't rain last night."

"It was supposed to but I was already over budget and rain machines aren't cheap."

"Right…"

"So is that a yes? Are you coming?"

"Seven?"

"That's the target."

"Does that mean you have a decent timer these days, or is Luke running the show-?"

"Shut up," Kate scowled at Sophie's teasing. "I'm way better now."

"I can't imagine you could have gotten any worse. I would trust a toddler before I'd trust you in the kitch-"

"I can still uninvite you," Kate interrupted grumpily. There were few things Kate Kane couldn't master at the drop of a hat. Half of her personality was built around being infallible. Unfortunately for Kate, Sophie had the proof of a summer of burnt dishes to dispel that story.

"You say that like it's a threat, but you could burn this place to the ground. You uninviting me might actually save my life," Sophie continued, unable to contain a giggle at Kate's forced scowl of annoyance.

"I think you've had enough coffee," Kate said, shaking her head. "I had no idea eleven hours of sleep turned you into the energizer bunny."

"Hardly."

"Ok, I should really get downstairs though. She'll skewer me if I'm any later than I already am," Kate grinned knowingly as she glanced at her watch.

"Right, sure. I'm going to get going, too."

"Ok. Don't worry about the lock if I'm not back. It's literally just her and me in this joint."

"Great," Sophie said. Kate was halfway across the loft when she glanced back and saw the all too familiar look on Sophie's face: it was full of conflict, like she was mentally debating whether to say what was on her mind.

"Yes?" Kate teased.

"What is this?"

"What? What is what?" Kate asked, faltering and cursing herself for not seeing it coming. She knew exactly what Sophie meant, but a relaxed few moments had dropped her guard. Ten seconds longer and she'd have been in the clear.

"This… us. What… why did you ask me for drinks?"

Kate froze for a moment, her mind replaying every thought from that morning at warp speed.

"Oh… because I thought you could use a night off."

"A night off?"

"Yea, you know… two friends catching up over a couple drinks. I figured it beat another night in the office, right?"

"Right," Sophie said softly.

"Uh, so, I'll see you tomorrow?" Kate asked with a fake smile, trying to ease the creeping dread slowly filling the flat.

"Yea, sure."

* * *

"So what's the secret to this world famous lamb?" Luke asked in Kate's ear.

"Can't tell you," Kate said, lurking over a rooftop toward her stake-out spot.

"Why not?" he asked, hearing her footsteps quicken.

"Because then I'd be breaking Batwoman's cardinal rule," she grunted, landing onto an adjacent roof.

"Really? You'd kill me over it?"

"Not me; Grandma Kane would."

"She's still alive?"

"No," Kate smirked sadly, torn between the banter and the fond memory of the biggest curmudgeon of a woman she'd ever known. "But not even death would stop that woman from hunting you down. After me, of course - she'd be beside herself if the family secret was just handed over to the common folk."

"The common folk?"

"She was pretty classist," Kate clarified before making another leap.

"Almost there?"

"Two more blocks," she said, exhaling heavily.

After visiting the building across the street earlier, Kate had taken the opportunity to scope out the entire block as a 'prospective investor'. For as dense a location the building was, the area was surprisingly desolate. Kate hadn't been following the Upper West Side real estate market closely because it wasn't friendly to her business model; buildings were typically overpriced and catered toward a higher class. It wasn't that Kate didn't have interest in that market, it was that a buck went a lot farther in more rundown boroughs, and when room-count was a driver, private brownstones were off the table.

It was this market ignorance that made her confused when she showed up to find abandoned buildings populating the block. Her concerns that a raid on Delia Pflaum's building suddenly weren't as intense, and, after a quick consultation with Luke, they agreed a late night visit would be appropriate.

"How are we shaping up?" Kate asked, landing in her final position.

"Looking good. CCTV footage of the surrounding intersections are normal, and nothing out of the ordinary on the police radios."

"GCPD or Crows?"

"Both. I've also got the Crows on speed dial."

"Glad to hear we've stopped pretending the GCPD is even an option," Kate said dryly. The reality was that the GCPD had tapped out weeks ago. They were understaffed, and being blocked from the rail gun technology meant they weren't exactly chomping at the bit to come charging. There was also the minor problem that Batwoman's 'approval rating' had plummeted over the last few weeks. Conspiracy theories and rhetoric had pinned Gotham's current state squarely on her shoulders. The proof was in the Gotham parade; the epicenter of all of Gotham's recent problems.

Sure, robberies and crime persisted as usual, but Gothamites knew how to live around that. They'd acclimated to a certain lifestyle, but now that the fear toxin was back on the streets, a new kind of animosity was lashing out, and it picked the only public figure still trying to do anything about it as the scapegoat.

"I still call them, if only as a symbolic gesture."

"As long as it's always _after_ the Crows," Kate replied. "It's too bad the rail gun won't be in their hands for a few more days. It'd be a real waste if we can't pin this gang down tonight because of it."

"Right," Luke said. Kate was familiar with this tone. It was Luke's this-rail-gun-thing-is-a-bad-idea tone that had taken over anytime the topic came up. That he didn't engage was a sign he knew better than to start a fight right before Kate was potentially about to enter a room of criminals. While Kate's mind remained unchanged when it came to the rail gun, she appreciated the reservations and concerns Luke had for her. It wasn't something she'd have thought about on her own, and while she didn't care about the repercussions of the rail gun being on the market with the fail safes in place they'd established, she liked having someone who did.

"What's the status?"

"One second, Parker's checking."

"This would be a lot easier if you two were in the same room-"

"No, you agreed that if-"

"I know, I know. I'm just saying, this could go a lot faster if yo-"

"She's in," Luke interrupted.

Kate rolled her eyes in annoyance. After she had brought Mary into the ranks without Luke's permission, she'd made it a point to get his blessing before tapping Parker for this latest escapade. That Parker already knew Kate's identity helped persuade Luke; her age on the other hand, was an entirely separate issue:

" _She's_ how _old?" Luke gaped._

" _She'll be eighteen in like… a few months?"_

" _No."_

" _Luke, who else can you think of? You're smart, but you aren't computer hacker smart."_

" _She's a minor. A minor who nearly killed hundreds of people not even a year ago," Luke continued, removing his glasses to pinch the bridge of his nose. It was becoming quite the habit of his whenever he couldn't immediately outthink a situation._

" _That may all be true-"_

" _May? What part of that is in doubt?" Luke asked, his eyes bolting open in surprise._

" _Ok, it's all true. But what better time to prove she's changed her ways than with a massive breach into Gotham Energy to hunt down some bad guys?"_

" _You_ did _hear the first half of your suggestion, right? Do you even listen to yourself anymore? How is this a conversation?"_

" _Luke, I'm serious. You uncovered something with the greenhouses, but we're out of luck if we can't track them in real time. I think your hunch is right; how else are they always just out of our reach? If we can get Parker to locate the hotspots, we might have a real chance at nabbing some of these guys."_

_Kate watched Luke fall into deep thought. She knew he was concerned about bringing in another body that could jeopardize the whole operation and was even more on guard about that person being someone who didn't have the greatest track record, but he was also worried about what could happen if they didn't progress their search any faster. For as often as Luke and Kate butted heads, she appreciated this about him: he was always weighing the moral and ethical part of a situation. Where Kate followed in Jacob's stead when it came to a bullish head-on approach to problems, Luke took the opposite path. More often than not, Luke tended to be right, but it was on this occasion that Kate wasn't willing to budge._

_Bringing Parker onboard wasn't a bad idea - at least not to her. She trusted the teen to come through and stay on the straight and narrow, and she needed Luke to buy into that same trust. She knew they were smart enough to come up with an alternate solution, but she was past the point of letting another day slide without notable progress._

" _With conditions."_

" _No sugar after ten?" Kate smirked._

" _She can do this, but I don't want her involved outside of the hack."_

" _What?"_

" _She's a minor, there's a city-wide curfew, and I don't want her wandering the streets. If she does this, she does it away from here."_

"She's got a live signal - it looks like energy uses are tapering but still high."

"Are they falling or just lower?"

"Hang on, let me ask."

"Just patch her through-"

"Kate we agreed-"

"We agreed she'd keep her distance. Voice communication is just as removed as typing on a chat."

Kate heard a sigh in her ears and a few seconds later Parker's voice in her ear.

"Parker?" Kate called.

"Kate? You can hear me? This is so dope," Parker said giddily through the line.

"What's the status of use? Is it leveled out or tapering?" Kate asked, trying to keep a professional tone if only to assuage Luke.

"It's leveled out. They hit a peak last night around this time but it's since dropped to a slightly lower volume. Still off the charts though."

"Great, Luke, let's call in the Crows," Kate replied.

"Already on it."

"What? Why not just go in there, guns blazing?" Parker groaned.

"Because it's not enough to just bash some bones," Kate said calmly. "The Crows are authorized to make arrests, so if we can catch them in the act-"

"They're twelve minutes out," Luke interrupted.

"Twelve? Really?"

"That's fast, right?" Parker asked.

"Insanely," Kate muttered. "You called the tip line?"

"They might be upping their field patrols," Luke offered. "Parker, can you keep an eye on the usage and let us know if anything drops? Twelve minutes will set up a perimeter, but we should be ready to intervene if it suddenly plummets."

"On it, dude," came Parker's voice, and Kate couldn't help but smirk at the thought of Luke's reaction to her tone.

"Kate, I'll let you know wh-"

"Wait," Kate whispered, hearing a sound behind her. She was positioned on a roof one block over from the building and didn't want any accidental scares to ruin the element of surprise. The last thing she needed was GCPD sirens spooking the blue poppy gang. She crouched behind an A/C unit, scanning for unwanted occupants when a familiar silhouette caught Kate's eye, and she let out an annoyed sigh.

"I thought you had tonight off," Kate said in surprise.

"What?" Luke asked in similar surprise.

"What?" Sophie asked, also in surprise and doing a double take at Kate's question. "Why would I-"

"Seriously?" Luke groaned, recognizing Sophie's voice and noting Kate's slip up. "Did you want to take off the cowl for that one? It's honestly a miracle she doesn't know who you are."

"Saturday. Lead Crow and all," Kate clarified lamely, hearing another sigh of disapproval through the cowl. "What are you doing here?"

"I got a tip that something fun was about to go down," Sophie said cryptically.

Kate could only gape, a hundred questions buzzing through her head, and none of them appropriate with a cowl on. At the same time, none of them were appropriate as Kate Kane either, so instead she feigned indifference.

"How did you find me?" Kate asked, trying to recover with something casual.

"Really?" Sophie grinned. "You run around with bright red hair, and you want to know how I found you?"

Still frazzled that Sophie was even on the same roof as her, Kate couldn't come up with a clever retort. Instead she set her gaze back on the building.

"So what's the plan?" Sophie asked, stepping next to Kate and staring down at the same building. "I assume you've got me stationing my guys because someone's in there."

'There' was a three-story mixed-use building sandwiched between single-family brownstones. It was an unusually placed building, but the ground floor used to house a local bodega which fit. Financial strains and crime had shuttered the storefront long before the brownstones followed. Luke's research into the rental records had proven that much. Kate hadn't realized how beneficial her daytime job as a real estate investor would be until recently. Records offices didn't bat an eye when it came to requesting detailed information about different areas of Gotham. For as many gadgets as Bruce had, this trick of the trade was exclusively her and Luke's, and it had proven invaluable.

They learned that the last tenants to live in the building had been evicted four months earlier. The reason listed was because of a failure to pay rent, but when Kate and Luke interrogated the records, they noticed something fishy:

The tenant had been diligent and paid monthly for nearly two years. It was only in the month that led up to the eviction that a payment came late. It was hard enough for landlords to get tenants as it was. To get tenants who paid let alone who paid _on time_ was a rarity. In their experience of pouring over eviction history in Gotham, they rarely saw a landlord evict a tenant for late payments. Landlords would rather get paid a week late than have to find another tenant to fill the space. Losing anyone these days usually meant the apartment would sit vacant for months, and that meant losing out on much-needed income to cover mortgages. That made this eviction strange.

" _So obviously they didn't want anyone accidentally stumbling onto their illegal blue poppy lab," Luke had remarked._

" _That's a good name," Kate said._

" _What is?"_

" _The blue poppy gang."_

" _It does sound better than 'cronies'..."_

" _Let's use it," Kate concluded before pivoting back to the topic at hand. "But where is the money coming from? And how are they funding this whole operation in the first place?"_

" _Most of these buildings are owned in full. Delia's estate doesn't need the income to pay off mortgages, and since these buildings are sitting vacant, I'm sure Butler is able to forgo property taxes," Luke remarked. "But these insurance policies out on it are no joke."_

" _Beefy?"_

" _Like you wouldn't believe."_

They were quickly discovering one trick of the deteriorating real estate market was that huge insurance policies were tacked onto abandoned buildings. It was a monthly expense to carry them, but given the tendency for crime or Crow-driven use of explosives, the payout of damaged or destroyed property could be massive. There was a whole underworld of corruption built into this that they had put a pin in to investigate when fear toxin wasn't such a priority.

"I don't know how many, but I've been tracking them for a couple days," Kate explained to Sophie, cautious to avoid the use of a plural pronoun.

"How? What are they doing?" Sophie asked, surveying the darkened building. If they were doing something, they were doing it in the pitch black of night.

"I'm not sure how many there are. I'd suggest we raid the building, but-"

"My guys don't have rail guns yet."

"I thought as much," Kate said, feigning ignorance. "In either case, they're also a little trigger happy. If we're going to shut this down, we need survivors to catch and question."

"You want to flush them out," Sophie said, beginning to understand.

"Exactly. I go in and do the whole vigilante thing, they get spooked, and your guys nab them out in the open."

Sophie nodded in agreement. "I'll go with you."

"No," Kate said stubbornly.

"Yes. Last I checked you don't have a link to the Crows radio line. These guys are snakes. If I'm in there I can direct in real time."

"She's got a point," Luke offered.

"Who is this chick, again?" came Parker's voice.

"You're on a need-to-know basis, Parker," Luke said, "and right now you don't need to know."

"Hater."

**xx**

"I'll go in first in case-"

"Bullets. Sure," Sophie replied, conceding this to Batwoman as they approached from the alley.

"Crows look set-up," came Luke's voice.

Kate stepped up to the back door that led to the shop and tested the handle. It released, and she pulled it open with a small scowl. She took a few paces into what looked like the stockroom, scanning the empty shelves for a sign of recent activity. When nothing obvious appeared, she continued into the main area, hearing Sophie linger a few steps behind her. It was equally desolate without a sign of use.

"It's… empty?" Sophie whispered.

"Impossible. They were just here," Kate said, a franticness rushing through her.

"Uh, guys, the power usage has dropped," came Parker's voice. "It's… everything's at zero."

"What?" Kate and Luke both called in shock.

"This doesn't make any sense," Parker muttered. All lightness was gone from her voice as she ferociously scanned for more information.

"I'll check the basement," Sophie called.

"This place doesn't have one," Luke chimed in, scanning the blueprints as the trio tried processing this information.

"Tell that to the stairs she just went down." Kate muttered in growing frustration. "Where am I going? They have to be here."

"Best chances are they'd have set-up shop near the front or back for an easy exit. But they might also be in the upstairs units-"

"On it," Kate replied.

"Two lefts and then straight."

**xx**

Rail gun drawn, Sophie quickly descended the stairs, hearing the communication of the four teams around the building set up blockades in her ear. That she went ahead while leaving them behind broke all sorts of protocol, but, with the exception of Batwoman's commentary about her trigger-happy squads, there were two factors that made her do it: the first was that the Crows were being directed by the GCPD to arrest Batwoman, so bringing any of them along could throw a wrench in the night; the second was that she wasn't about to let Batwoman go in without back-up. Yes, she had all the gadgets and gear any good vigilante would need, but that didn't stop Sophie from worrying.

The one and only sign of possible occupancy was that the lights were on. The basement was unfinished and flooded in temporary lighting fixtures, illuminating the entire space. Sophie made quick work of the main space as there wasn't much to check, noting two doorways off to her right as she moved through it. She kicked in the first door to reveal a broom closet and turned toward the second when the door burst open and a figure bolted out toward the stairs. Sophie immediately made chase, retracing the steps she'd just taken back to the first floor.

Clattering guided her through the main store space, back into the stock room, and out into the alley behind the building. It was then that she caught up with him, and she leapt to tackle, sending them both sprawling to the ground. The figure tried to roll away but Sophie was quick to react, pinning her knee into his stomach to keep him down. She had just enough time to realize he was wearing armor before his arms flailed, knocking Sophie's balance, and he took the opportunity to throw his weight behind a punch. Sophie tried to block it but, in doing so, lost a handle on the rail gun, sending it scattering to the pavement.

Sophie mentally cursed but didn't chase it down, knowing that, even if the perp got it, he couldn't use it. They both climbed to their feet, Sophie blocking a few more strikes before landing one of her own into his nose. A satisfying crunch and cry confirmed it was likely broken. He charged in anger, sending her into the ground. She gasped as the air was stripped from her lungs, and it took her a moment to recover. The masked figure took the opportunity to crawl toward the rail gun. He swiped it up and pointed it at her. Sophie climbed to her feet, stepping toward the figure to engage him again when something made her stomach plunge.

She watched, stunned as the gun began to glow blue with a charge. She was gripped with confusion by the barrel pointed toward her, and realized with only a moment to spare that she needed to dive out of the way or be hit. She rolled ungracefully behind a dumpster as the brick wall she'd just been standing in front of was obliterated into tiny clay shrapnel. The pieces sprayed overhead, and Sophie shook herself of the shock, hearing the sound of a second charge already underway.

She unholstered her sidepiece, knowing she had only seconds to react. The torso was off limits, but maybe she could hit a limb and gain an advantage. She peered her head around the side of the dumpster and used the blue glow of the gun to track the shadow. She fired twice, missing and ducking just in time to avoid the blast aimed at her head. She lifted her arm to shield herself from the spray of debris, flinching where stray pieces slipped past and grazed her skin.

Her training kicked in, and she lifted her gun back around the dumpster to find the shooter, only this time she couldn't track him. Straining her ears over the city's whitenoise, she listened for the sound of a charge or footsteps. She crept around the edge of the dumpster and caught a soft blue out of the corner of her eye as a fresh charge began. Lifting her gun to take aim, she was startled by another shadow appearing from above through a shattering of glass. The difference was that this one donning a cape and cowl. The form landed between the glowing blue and Sophie, and a panic struck her as she realized she no longer had a clear shot and the gun was seconds from a full charge.

"Get down!" Sophie shouted. Those two words echoed through the air, carrying with it a desperate plea and fear for Batwoman to get out of the way. Instead of listening, Batwoman closed in on the masked figure, and Sophie's heart sank, her own feet chasing after but knowing a millisecond later would be too late.

Sophie flinched, waiting for the charge to release but none came. She looked back at the scene and saw Batwoman mid-fight with the armored figure. He was untrained and clearly no match. Two swift moves later and a reckless move on his part left unconscious, pinned to the ground, and Batwoman towering over him to quickly zip tie his hands behind his back.

Sophie approached slowly, confused by what had just occurred.

"How did you…?"

Batwoman looked up and, with a cheeky grin, pulled out a glowing discus from her utility belt.

"What is that?" Sophie asked but could venture a guess.

"It deactivates rail guns within a certain perimeter."

"Neat toy," Sophie replied, her heart slowly returning to a normal level but distracted by the abandoned rail gun on the ground.

"You look surprised," Batwoman replied, slightly winded.

Sophie shook her head. "It's not you."

"Is it you? Are you breaking up with me?" Batwoman smirked, not seeing the confusion racing through Sophie's mind.

"Something's not right."

"What do you mean?" Batwoman asked, finally picking up on Sophie's hesitation as she rolled their captive over.

"He shouldn't have been able to use it."

"It's a gun. It's not that hard to figure out."

"Not exactly. They have safety features... they're supposed to include fingerprint authentication," Sophie replied, bypassing Batwoman's joking and scowling at the gun in her hand. It only had one charge left, but somehow that one charge suddenly felt more dangerous than ever. "It should only work for a registered user."

Batwoman nodded but didn't seem phased by the feedback. Instead she scanned the alley for signs of more bodies.

"Did anyone else flee?" she asked.

"Not that I saw," Sophie replied, shaking her head. "We should check the building for evidence."

"What's the news at the blockades? They'll likely have something by now," Batwoman said confidently. This made sense: they weren't here to capture anyone, they were here to push them out for the Crows to arrest them.

Sophie realized the absence of voices in her ear for the first time and saw her ear piece dangling from her collar, noting it must have fallen out in the struggle. She quickly replaced it and called for an update. A moment passed as a report was communicated back to her.

"Nothing?" Sophie said, breaking the silence with a tone of surprise. She paused as a voice on the other side of her coms spoke. "Keep half stationed at each intersection and send the remainder to check the in betweens; maybe they scattered. Get intel back at headquarters to verify the same."

"They've caught nothing?" Kate asked to confirm what she had already deduced. A nod from Sophie sent a surge of annoyance through her. "How is that possible? You had every intersection covered?" Kate challenged. The question was directed at Sophie, but she was hoping Luke was surveying the surrounding footage for some insight as well. This felt too surreal to be happening. They had them cornered.

"Yes," Sophie confirmed, clearly just as confused, but with an edge of frustration. "You're sure this was a whole operation?"

"Yes."

"How?" Sophie asked, realizing Batwoman had barely given her anything to go off. Blind trust had led her and half the Crows into this situation.

"It doesn't matter."

"What? Yes it does," Sophie said with an edge of annoyance. "If you just pulled my task force off-"

"Are you sure your guys didn't just let them through?" Kate growled, her frustrations of letting the blue poppy gang slip through their fingers again. They had been so close. "It's kind of your schtick these days," she added, letting her anger flavor her tone.

"Kate, don't-" Luke began warning before Sophie chimed in.

"Are you challenging the integrity of my team?" Sophie asked coolly, appraising Batwoman with a small glare. "After you give me nothing to go off but a blown operation and no obvious proof of wrongdoing beyond a measly henchman, you think you have the authority to ask me that question?"

"If me pointing to their track record for sidestepping orders is challenging their integrity, then yes. That's exactly what I'm doing," Kate replied angrily. "If I wanted to let these guys free to continue terrorizing the city, I'd have called the GCPD."

"Kate, she's trying to help-"

"We had a perimeter. You can check the surveillance footage; I'm sure you've already illegally tapped into it. That's kind of your schtick," Sophie shot back.

"You want to talk about legality when people are getting hurt every day? Fine," Kate replied, her temper narrowing in on Sophie's word choice.

"Kate, what are you doi-"

"Then how about we talk about the GCPD-level corruption coming out of the Crows? How many times will you guys drop the ball before something clicks? You're fucking it up."

"That's rich coming from someone who is two steps behind our intel," Sophie challenged back in reference to the night before.

"Oh, right, because you discovered the rail gun all on your own."

"I didn't want that-" Sophie began.

"Kate, seriously-"

"And that's part of the problem. The Crows are being led by someone who isn't willing to take the big risks. Even tonight you're only here because of me-"

"-calm dow-"

"Yes. Exactly. We're only here because of you. And look at where that's gotten Gotham. You want to talk about fucking up? You called in a tip and had half the task force blindly join your wild goose chase," Sophie shot back. "You've now risked the lives of every citizen in unpatrolled zones because your intel is off."

"It's more than you've done. I actually want to catch these guys, and take down this operation."

"Well done. We've spent a whole slew of resources to nab one uninformed crony. You think we'll get a lot out of this one?" Sophie asked, pointing to the unconscious form. "Because my guess is we've just risked lives and thinned our resources around the rest of the city for nothing."

"Maybe you need to review your interrogation tactics then," Kate growled.

"The Crows are putting their lives on the line every time you need back-up because of this armor."

"So your incompetence is somehow my fault? Where do you think this armor was stolen from?" Kate asked, her voice now resonating with a volume that matched her months-long frustrations.

"What are you talking about?" Sophie asked in confusion.

"Kate wh-" Luke pleaded.

"The Crows are the reason for all of this," Kate accused, her anger pushing Luke's cries of protest to her periphery.

"We don't have this kind of technology-"

" _-Kate-_ "

"-no, you were just supposed to protect it but instead sold it off to the highest bidder," Kate shot back. It wasn't a total lie. A level-headed Kate knew Cobblepot was likely to blame for partnering with Tommy Elliot, but another loss in a season with few wins had sent her spiraling.

"Wh-what? When?"

"On your watch, _Lead Crow_ ," Kate practically spat.

Sophie was thrown for only a moment before her own frustration with the situation swelled. She preferred diplomacy, but after months of infighting with Jacob, her taste for it was dwindling, and Batwoman had managed to tap into every insecurity she'd been carrying for months.

"Even if what you're saying is true, I don't remember the balloon that sparked this madness being a crow. You want to talk about who started this? Your cowl is just as much to blame," Sophie said, aiming her own personal blow at Gotham's latest dark knight. "We may have slipped up with the armor, but the only reason anyone wanted it was because of you."

The words stung more than Kate would admit. That they came from Sophie made it worse.

"My guys are canvassing which means they'll be here any minute," Sophie warned. "If you know what's good for you, you'll go."


	28. Chapter 28

Kate stared down at the flock of Crows and blinking lights from the rooftop two blocks south of the site. For summer, the breeze was cool on Kate's skin - the small patch that was exposed at least. She had shut off her communication link with Luke as she simmered in her anger. She was perched on the roof's edge, and, to a passerby, was the spitting image of a brooding bat.

Her expression was concealed by the cowl, but under it was a scowl as she interrogated the last hour. They had the blue poppy gang cornered. A live feed of the energy use proved as much, but somehow they still got away. After weeks of failed attempts, Kate had learned to keep her hopes to a minimum, but tonight was different. With Parker's real-time intel and the Crows setting up blockades around the building, she was sure they'd nab… _something_. Instead they were just as empty-handed as any time before, but what was worse was that the gang now knew they were being watched. That meant procedures would be revised and the ability to catch them by surprise more difficult.

The more she watched the Crows scouting around the building and its adjacent streets, the more Kate became convinced they'd missed something obvious. The amount of energy being used by the building was off the charts. The building was owned by Delia Pflaum. They also knew the gang was set up to quickly bolt, but the more Kate considered this, the more she realized no evidence proved that point. They had poured over surveillance footage for signs that a large operation like a moveable greenhouse was being transported around the city, but nothing had appeared. This made them think the operation was broken into smaller parts for easy removal, but even that didn't make sense anymore: they would have been stopped at the blockades. Or, at the very least, the canvassing that followed would have shed some light on it, but so far nothing.

Her memory scanned for a mistake - anything that may have let them slip out from under their noses. She'd been diligent and waited for the Crows to establish a perimeter. She'd watched the building to ensure no one came or went without her notice leading up to that. Parker confirmed usage was still sky high. Sophie was unplanned, but that should have helped them. It allowed Kate to take the main floor while Sophie checked the basement, and might have been the only reason they nabbed the one thug. She pondered whether he would have much information to give or if he'd be like the rest-

_The basement._

"Luke," she called, reconnecting to the cave. It took a moment for Luke's voice to respond.

"Yea? Is everything ok?" he asked, stepping cautiously on eggshells.

"What were those things called?"

"I… you've given me no context."

"Those things with the underground stuff-" Kate asked, grasping at straws as her brain tried recalling the explanation from a lifetime before.

"Underground… you mean the sewers?" Luke asked, stabbing in the dark.

"-no, from months ago-"

"The… the subway?"

"-from the Nocturna raid-"

"Oh, uh… geothermal labyrinths?"

"Those, yes - how big are they?"

"Depends, why?"

"Are they everywhere in the city?"

"No."

Kate sighed, feeling a familiar defeat on the horizon.

"At least… hang on, I'm looking it up now… It was… yea, ok, it was a short-lived initiative that tapered off because the average person couldn't take advantage of the cost to construct them and most of the evidence was debunked. Not to mention the corruption baked into it."

"What do you mean?" Kate asked.

A moment passed as Luke surveyed his findings.

"It was originally established as the city's attempt to encourage passive energy use, but it was basically publicly subsidized snake oil. Geothermal systems are legitimate, but the way it was pitched in the policy was based on faulty findings. It became a logistical nightmare because developers gave over their below grade areas to these maze-like tunnels in place of parking garages."

"Did it work?"

"No. The premise was flawed, and it took a five-year study to uncover the scam: there is no evidence the implemented strategy even matches what a geothermal system is supposed to look like. On top of that, the developers took taxpayer money to subsidize their construction in the name of green energy."

"But they lost the usable building area," Kate remarked. "Why would they surrender rentable space like that?"

"Because the subsidies paid a set amount per square foot that was used for the project, and that number was more than you could ever get for a parking spot - at least in the short term. Plus they could retrofit it back by demolishing a few walls and painting some lines down the line. The scam was uncovered because it just so happens the developers who took advantage are also the primary owners of GPaL."

"GPaL?"

"Gotham Parks a-Lot."

"Supply and demand," Kate realized.

"That's what it looks like. Less parking meant they could gouge people with increased rates. They made money hand over fist from both."

"I'd say I'm surprised, but this is Gotham," Kate pondered. "So this only applied to new, big developer construction?"

"Uh… no?" Luke began before falling silent as he surveyed another article. "No. Apparently that's why it had legs early on: it was pitched toward existing structures, too, but in their cases, it was about converting basements or crawl spaces… oh wow, this is such a scam. The catch was that, in order to get the financial benefits, it had to be tied into some larger city network. City officials came up with some catchy name for it… hang on… yea, Gothermal."

"Go-thermal?"

"Gotham and geothermal."

"That's awful. So, the whole city has these?"

"Not quite; that's where other problems began: regular people began retrofitting their spaces, but the city wasn't moving forward with it's own work to link them together, so people never got reimbursed. It effectively caused a micro-recession within the city."

"I don't remember this. When was it?"

"It looks like it started at least fifteen years ago. I don't have an exact year, but I remember my dad talking about it when I was a kid. Why? What's this about?"

"You said the building didn't have a basement."

"Right."

"But-"

"-it did."

"Bingo. The plans you were referencing. When are they dated from?" Kate waited for Luke to reply, but instead heard a shuffling of papers. "Luke?"

"Well I'll be damned," she heard him mutter under his breath.

"I love being right."

"Records of construction permits were submitted nearly ten years ago to have the basement overhauled as one which is why, on record, it doesn't have a basement. How did we miss this?"

"Any chance it feeds into the… what did you call it - the Gothermal network?"

"It had barely started before the financial spigot ran dry."

"I thought you said this ran for years."

"It did, but-"

"That means some would have been developed."

"Technically, yes," Luke replied.

"Can you find out where it exists?" Kate asked, lost in the possibility of this new lead.

"It'll take a minute."

"That's fine. I need to wait for the Crows to leave anyway."

"This might be a random coincidence."

"So beit, but I don't care about coincidence right now; I care about finding them," Kate replied.

Minutes passed in silence. Kate could hear the typing from Luke through the cowl as she staked out the scene. The Crows were snapping pictures and gathering whatever evidence they could find. Part of her hoped they found something useful, but a larger part of her wanted them to wrap up so she could investigate the basement.

"So are we going to talk about why you're so moody or just pretend like the last twenty minutes didn't happen?" Luke asked.

"Later," Kate sighed.

"It's nearly midnight."

"Tomorrow, then."

* * *

"I wondered if you'd show back up," came a voice from the corner of the stock room. Kate mentally groaned at failing to see the figure earlier. She turned slowly to it, her hand slipping to her belt in the process and retrieving a flash bang grenade in case a quick getaway was necessary. "Perps always return to the scene of the crime."

"I forgot my umbrella," Kate said coolly.

"I hate when that happens," the voice replied, and Kate relaxed slightly as she finally recognized the dry humor and tone. "Especially when it's a good one. None of the umbrellas sold around here are worth their weight in salt."

The figure stepped out of the shadows, and Kate nearly rolled her eyes at the gun aimed at her.

"You know that won't work, right?" Kate asked.

"You know your face is unprotected, right?" came the sardonic tone Kate had come to expect from Renee.

"Touche."

"What color is it?"

"What?"

"Your umbrella. Pink? Yellow?"

"Black," Kate replied, uninterested in this game and definitely not thrilled at having a gun pointed at her face, no matter how unlikely it was to be fired.

"That could take ages to find."

"Family heirloom. I'd hate to lose it. So, are you going to call this in or let me through Agent…?"

"Montoya. We've met before."

"Have we?" Kate asked cautiously.

"At the parade. I was in civilian clothes-"

"Oh, right," Kate nodded, weighing whether running into her was lucky or unlucky.

"And you are?" Renee asked with a grin.

Unlucky, Kate concluded.

"Is it just you?" Kate asked, ignoring Renee's question.

"Not unless you count my comrades sleeping upstairs or in the trucks stationed outside. And before you try any funny business, my vitals are being tracked back at headquarters. Any jump and they'll have a team on you faster than you can say 'Crows'," Renee said.

"I just need five minutes."

"You know I could get fired for letting you in."

"And innocent people could die if you don't," Kate shot back.

Renee seemed to weigh Batwoman's words before unceremoniously dropping her arms and holstering her weapon. Kate relaxed but left the flash bangs securely in her hand as she took a step toward the main storefront.

"Fine, but I'm coming with you."

"Then who will play doorman?" Kate shot back.

"Lucky for you, my job is more expansive than just bouncer; I'm more of a bellhop. Did you have any bags with you for your stay?

Definitely unlucky.

Kate sighed as she retraced the steps to the same set of stairs Sophie had taken hours earlier. She heard Renee following closely behind and scowled, realizing communication with Luke would be limited with company.

"How'd you get stuck with the graveyard shift?" Kate asked by way of making light conversation.

"I volunteered."

"Really?"

"No. I'm still a noob, so they assign me desk job or night duty."

"You're new?"

"Came over from GCPD a few months ago."

The stairs creaked under their steps, and the space had the damp, aged smell that came with most basements. It had clearly been used to store inventory back when the bodega was in operation, but now it was nothing but a large, unfinished room. The exposed surfaces made the space feel more like a cellar than a proper basement: the slab was simply compacted earth, and the walls were a heavy stone foundation. Modern fixtures were scattered around the space, illuminating even the furthest of corners.

"Were these here?" Kate asked.

"Yea. Someone was obviously afraid of the dark," Renee remarked.

Kate surveyed the walls for anything obviously altered but couldn't see anything at first glance.

"What are you looking for?"

"Not sure," Kate admitted.

"That sounds promising."

Kate ignored the jab and continued scouring the walls for information. It was only as her eyes tracked toward the ground that Kate noticed the discoloration on the ground. She took a step back to better survey the distinctions: the majority of the ground consisted of light sandy-coloring except for a series of darker lines no more than a foot wide crisscrossing to create various intersections and divisions.

"Is this a maze?" Renee asked, following Batwoman's gaze to the strange lines.

"It's a labyrinthe," Kate explained.

"Isn't that the same thing as a maze?" Renee replied with a scowl.

Kate didn't answer, tracking the pattern from the stairs across and around the floor.

"They probably demolished the labyrinthe," Luke commentated in her ear. "The pattern on the ground is probably the footprint of the original walls."

"Why would someone draw a maze in a basement?" Renee asked, squatting to study the discoloration more closely.

"It's a long story," Kate replied, continuing to track the pattern. Finally her eyes settled on the 'end' of the maze. It was situated at one of the two doors. She approached it, the flash bombs still clutched in her hand.

"It's just a utility room," Renee explained from her position. "There are holes in the ground. Do you think there used to be walls here?"

"Yes," Kate said simply, pulling the door of the utility room open. Renee wasn't wrong: it looked like a standard closet. There was a hot water heater shoved to one side of the tiny space and circuit breakers lined the wall opposite it. Beyond that there was nothing significant about the room. Kate glanced back out to the main space again, scanning for the missing piece.

Renee stood and walked to the other door, opening it to reveal another closet space. It was then that Kate caught something shifting out of the corner of her eye. She glanced down and saw the corner of her cape fluttering lightly, as though caught in a light breeze. She glanced back into the utility closet and crouched down, searching for the draft. She lifted her hand and felt a cool burst of air. She leaned forward until it settled against a piece of deteriorating wood. At first glance the piece of wood didn't catch her eye. It wasn't much bigger than a clipboard pressed against the corner, concealed by shadows and dirt. She pulled it back to reveal a hole and a rush of air.

"What'd you find?" Renee asked from behind her.

Kate stood, scanning the circuit breakers with a new level of interrogation. It was then that she noticed a handful of the breakers had been modified. She wasn't an electrical engineer, but her gut told her this was how they'd tapped into the electricity.

"What's going on?" Renee pressed, trying to catch up to Batwoman's silent deductions.

"I have to go," Kate said cryptically, brushing past Renee and steering herself to the stairs.

"Hey, wait," Renee called. "You're just up and leaving?"

Kate didn't pause to answer and heard Renee scamper after her.

"Did you find something?" she called.

"Yes," Kate replied simply, ascending the stairs.

"What is it?" Renee pestered. "Hey, come on now, I let you in."

"That's what you think," Kate said dryly, now at the top of the stairs and scowling back at Renee who paused mid step in surprise.

"I put my job on the line," Renee continued. "The least you could do is pass along some intel."

"You called me a perp," Kate challenged, continuing in the main store space.

"Prove me wrong then," Renee scowled.

"Tell your boss to meet me on the roof of Crow Headquarters in thirty."

"Which one?" Renee asked easily, and Kate could see the shadow of disapproval on her face.

"What?"

"I asked 'which one'? Your little stunt tonight shook up leadership."

"Sophie Moore," Kate clarified, a sense of dread filling her.

"I doubt she'll want to chat with you given the circumstances, but I'll pass along the message."

"What happened?" Kate pressed.

"You ever hear of double standards?" Renee remarked, clearly perturbed by Batwoman's unforthcoming attitude. "It's when someone-"

"I know what double standards are," Kate shot back angrily.

"Then you'll know there's no way in hell I'm about to tell you."

* * *

"So I think we just stumbled onto something big," Luke remarked. "I need to make a trip to city planning to confirm, but there's a good chance this is how the gang has been navigating between locations without notice."

"Great," Kate muttered grumpily. She was brooding from a gargoyle statue and had her eyes locked on the Crows headquarters for a sign of Sophie. It had been an hour since her discovery at the building in the Upper West Side, and there had been no sign of the Lead Crow on the rooftop.

"Kate, this is huge. We've spent months tracking the blue poppy gang, and this might be our way of catching them. There aren't that many of these tunnels under Gotham," Luke offered optimistically.

"You're right," Kate said, tearing herself from her thoughts. "But like you said, we won't solve it tonight. You should sign off and get some sleep."

"I'd say the same for you-"

"I will," Kate promised. "Thanks for staying up for this."

"Anytime. See you at dinner tomorrow."

"Don't forget you're in charge of drinks," Kate quipped back.

"Mary and I swapped - she's got drinks; I've got dessert."

"That sounds dangerous," Kate remarked.

"Hey, it was her idea."

Luke cut off his side of communication, leaving Kate to dwell in her own thoughts. It was amazing how much difference twenty four hours could make. A day earlier she had been pleasantly bantering with Sophie in her flat. Now she may have just cost her position of Lead Crow. Renee's response wasn't incredibly forthcoming, but there was a pointedness about it that left Kate worried. The last thing she wanted was to hurt Sophie; add to that being the cause of her demotion and she was riddled with all sorts of regret. The botched raid hadn't helped Kate's dwindling temper, and she was beside herself with frustration at taking it out on Sophie of all people. She knew it was the wrong outlet to vent at. She could count on one hand the number of times she'd lashed out at Sophie, but the weight of failure from hours earlier had been enough to tread over that infrequently crossed line. The only saving grace was that she'd been wearing a mask to hide her identity, but that didn't make her feel any better about the words she let slip out.

A siren in the distance pulled her from her thoughts. She recognized the blaring noise was for an ambulance which likely meant whatever the reason, she'd provide little help. She sighed in frustration, sleep pulling at her eyes. Discomfort from sitting for nearly an hour in this position had begun to creep into her body. Part of wanted to shift to somewhere more comfortable, but her stubbornness wanted her to stay perched on this gargoyle as a form of punishment for losing her cool. It was a pointless reprimand, but it felt better than just ignoring what she'd done.

Another handful of minutes passed before Kate finally gave in. She pulled her eyes from the rooftop and glanced around the city skyline, noting the faint hue of pink playing out on the horizon. Begrudgingly she climbed to her feet, taking care to steady herself as her achy joints stretched out before grappling back to her flat.

* * *

A knock on the door pulled Kate from her focused preparation in the kitchen. She wasn't about to let this dinner go off the rails. That a buzzer hadn't chimed could only mean that it was Luke who had a fob to the building. She sighed at his attempts to maintain the semblance of privacy in knocking when he could have just as easily charged in.

"It's open," she called, and sure enough the door opened to reveal Luke and Mary on the other side. In Luke's hands was a white pastry box and in Mary's were half a dozen bottles of wine, creating a gradient of colors that spanned from white to red.

"I found this one struggling downstairs. Thought I'd let her up," Luke said of Mary.

Kate smirked in amusement as Mary quickly shuffled to the counter to set down the armful of bottles.

"You didn't offer to help?" Kate asked of Luke as she returned her attention to the cutting board.

"She went all 'strong independent woman' on me," Luke said in defense as the bottles scattered themselves across the counter. Luke quickly stretched a hand to stop two from rolling off and onto the wood floor. Kate gave an appreciative nod as Mary quickly shifted the bottles upright. "It took a whole minute to convince her that my opening the door wasn't sexist."

"I wasn't sure what everyone wanted," Mary explained, ignoring Luke's remarks. "Obviously red for dinner because 'lamb', but until then… you know; options can't hurt."

"So you bought a liquor store?" Luke chuckled.

"I think you mean vineyard. There's no whisky here," Kate countered lightly.

"I thought you said dinner was at seven," Luke said, surveying the very in-progress array of items littering the counter.

"I said I was aiming for seven," Kate replied.

"Seven tonight or tomorrow morning?" Luke teased, earning a quick glare of annoyance from Kate.

"Corkscrew?" Mary asked, ignoring the all-too-common bantering bouncing between Luke and Mary.

"Behind me, second bay, first drawer," Kate explained.

"You look like hell by the way," Luke said, posting up on a barstool at the counter. "You sleep?"

"Can't find it," Mary called.

"It's silver," Kate explained, her focus returning to the onions.

"Kate," Luke continued in his best concerned fatherly voice.

"You sure this is the drawer?" Mary continued, shuffling noisily through the pile of utensils.

"I took a nap."

"How long?" Luke asked over the opening and closing of drawers.

"Do you have a bike pump?" Mary asked.

"Why?" Kate asked, looking up in surprise.

"In case we can't find the corkscrew. I saw a video of two girls using one to open a bottle of - aha! Found it."

"How long?" Luke repeated, his tone bordering on pestering.

"Long enough to need a glass of wine," Kate shot back.

"Red or white?" Mary asked excitedly.

"I don't really think you should-"

"Luke, if Kate wanted to be parented she'd have invited Jacob," Mary interrupted, shooting him a small scowl of discouragement.

"I… I'm just-"

"Worried. We know," Mary continued. "But we're here to have fun and get drunk. At least that's my plan. I'm getting drunk whether we have fun or not, but it'd definitely be a way better time if we have fun, kapeesh?"

Luke's mouth hung open as his brain battled between Mary's mood and his preferred rationale.

"Look at poor Mary; you've gotten her all riled up that she's appropriating Italian culture now," Kate smirked as Mary made quick work of the cork on a bottle of rosé and snagging three glasses from the shelf.

"And _you_ do need to sleep more. Luke's right; you aren't cute," Mary chastised as she glugged splashes of wine into the glasses and circulated them around.

"Grab a fourth," Kate said, nodding to the cabinet.

"Double-fisting? This _is_ going to be a party," Mary grinned excitedly.

"Sophie's coming over," Kate explained, sending Luke's mouth agape once more.

"Pardon moi?" Mary practically shrieked, spinning back toward Kate.

"Ooh, French now," Luke remarked.

"Don't make it a big deal," Kate said coolly.

"Oh, of course," Mary replied, feigning indifference but shooting Luke an excited look over Kate's shoulder.

"Uh, so you two were supposed to get drinks," Luke coughed out, sending Mary's eyes bulging with eagerness. "Is… did that… how was that? _When_ was that?"

"Friday. It was fine," Kate said cryptically and with nowhere near enough detail to satiate Mary's appetite for Kate's personal life.

"And this… er, her coming over is…?"

"I mentioned I was making lamb. There's plenty to go around, and she has the day off," Kate rattled off indifferently.

"Does she?" Luke asked in surprise.

"I mean… she hasn't said otherwise," Kate said, suddenly linking the news from last night to the evening's plans.

"Why? What's going on?" Mary asked, realizing she was on the outs.

"There was a small… hiccup in last night's vigilantism," Luke explained as casually as possible.

"Meaning?" Mary pressed.

"We don't really know the details; we're just going off what Renee said," Kate explained.

"Renee? Sophie's girlfriend, Renee?"

"Ex," Luke clarified.

" _Ex_?" Mary asked, her eyebrows raising in further curiosity.

Just then a ring caused all three sets of eyes to dart toward the door.

"I got it!" Mary cried, sprinting across the room and buzzing Sophie in.

"Not a word about any of this," Kate stressed.

"It's hard to say something when you haven't actually said anything," Mary scowled.

"She knows the elevator works now, right?" Luke pondered.

"Pretty sure. Not that she had trouble with the stairs before," Kate noted dryly. "Some people regularly work out."

"I work out!" Luke scowled defensively.

Moments later a knock sent Mary bolting to the door again to usher Sophie inside.

"Hey, sorry I'm late," were her first words.

"It's fine, Kate's nowhere near on schedule," Luke chimed in. "I hope you weren't hungry; this won't be ready till midnight."

"At least that means it's not burnt yet," Sophie offered lightly.

"Yet?" Mary asked, honing in on the word choice.

"Is this the first time Kate has ever cooked for you two?" Sophie asked with an amused grin.

"Uh…"

"Yes?" Luke said cautiously, glancing back toward Kate who simply rolled her eyes.

"Uh, I wasn't sure what to bring so I went with wine," Sophie said, offering a bottle as she approached the kitchen area, "but by the looks of it, maybe I should have gotten dessert?"

"Mary got a little carried away," Luke replied.

"Rosé?" Mary asked, offering an over-filled glass in her outstretched hand.

"Sure," Sophie said, smirking at the volume and realizing her expectations for the evening were at a very different level from Mary's. She followed Mary to the seating area and grabbed a spot on the couch.

"Join us?" Mary asked Luke.

"I'm good here," Luke replied.

"Fine," Mary scowled, plopping down onto the couch next to Sophie.

"Someone has to make sure Kate doesn't burn the food-"

"I'm not going to burn it," Kate glared from the cutting board.

The rest of dinner's preparation passed with light chatter, an entire bottle of wine, and no fire alarms. Luke had finally transitioned over to the sitting area once it was clear Kate's focus on preparing dinner meant she wasn't interested in socializing. The sound of beeps drew the trio's attention back to Kate for the first time to see her scowling at the timer in her hands.

"Did you burn it?" Luke called.

Kate looked up in annoyance before returning her attention to the tiny device. "No."

"Having trouble with the math?" Mary asked.

Kate didn't even bother looking up for this retort. "I know how to do math."

"New timer?" Sophie offered, hitting Kate's frustration on the nose.

"It won't set," Kate said with a small nod.

"You could just set a timer on your phone," Luke replied.

They sat in amused silence for a few moments longer as Kate continued to struggle with the piece of technology. The irony of the situation was not lost on Mary and Luke given that her extra curricular activities involved using tech far more complex than a tiny timer. Finally Kate sighed in defeat, tossing it onto the counter and snatching up her phone.

"Does this mean you're finally joining us?" Luke asked.

"In a minute," Kate called, her focus on her phone.

"Are you having trouble with that one, too?" Mary teased.

They all stared expectantly, but Kate remained silently glaring at her phone's screen.

"Kate?" Luke called.

"Hm, what?" Kate said, pocketing her device. "I'll be over in a bit; I want to clean up first."

Luke eyed her cautiously but remained quiet, letting Mary take control of the conversation again. She was regaling them with stories of the clinic, and, if this was any other dinner party, they'd have been far from appropriate to share.

"So how's work been?" Mary asked after an especially grotesque anecdote about a nail gun and a hand. She easily ignored the look of surprise and small arrows of disapproval shooting from Luke's eyes. After all, Kate hadn't said all of the Crows were off limits.

"Fine. Busy."

"Be more cryptic," Mary sighed sarcastically. "Any fun missions?"

"Uh…"

"The Crows don't do missions anymore, Mary," Kate interjected from the kitchen. They all turned in surprise at this; she'd spent the last thirty-odd minutes silently working that her voice felt foreign.

"Actually, we do regular patrols of the city now. What with all the baseless tips floating around, we've found it does a better job," Sophie clarified, scowling slightly at Kate's remark.

"So a bit like the GCPD?" Luke asked, shooting Kate a furtive glance, but her attention was back on her phone.

"Sort of; we send out an entire squad instead of a single patrol car. It's maybe a bit overkill, but I'd rather have too many patrolling empty streets than let anyone be outnumbered if they run into anything."

"Have you caught any of the guys from this fear toxin gang?" Mary asked.

"A few. We're focusing on trying to uncover their main operation-"

"Are you?" Kate asked in surprise. "I was under the impression the Crows were on standby."

"Intelligence-gathering takes time," Sophie replied coolly.

"How much?" Kate asked.

"What?"

"How much time?" Kate repeated. "Because it's been m-"

"I got a message from a contact at Hamilton: the rail gun is nearly approved. That's exciting," Mary interrupted, shooting Kate a questioning glance. "That should help alot with the-"

"Hamilton already approved it for field use," Kate interrupted. "What, like a month ago?"

" _A_ week," Sophie clarified, shooting her a warning look as Kate's interrogation hit all the wrong buttons, "and I already told you, these things take time to process and train-"

"It's a gun," Kate interrupted again, her tone bordering on hostile. "It shouldn't take this long to get into the field."

"It's not _just_ a gun, Kate. It can penetrate practically anything."

"This isn't news," Kate replied. "That's the point of the gun; to penetrate the armor of these guys."

"And in the wrong hands?" Sophie shot back.

"It's not like there's a never ending stream of bullets. It gets five shots, remember?"

"And you know as well as I do that even that could be a problem with some of the task force."

"Then audit the task force. A few bad apples shouldn't be the reason Gotham sleeps in fear."

Mary and Luke watched in confusion at the escalating tension volley back and forth across the room.

"That would take weeks and be a political firestorm with the board."

"Well you've been sitting on your hands for the last three months; that might have been an opportune time to tackle this problem," Kate easily lobbed back.

"Some of us need to follow protocol, Kate. Your father built this company and-"

"I didn't realize you were kowtowing to Jacob, now."

"I'm doing nothing of the sort, but we're obligated by the law and the framework of this organization, unlike some players around Gotham."

"Are you talking about this gang of crooks or Batwoman now?"

"Both ignore the law and leave organized security worse off for it."

"Interesting, because every piece of news I read suggests Batwoman's the only one trying to establish law and order in this city. Where are you and the GCPD these days?"

Luke finally felt the discomfort overwhelm him into speaking. "I think what Kate's trying to say is-"

"What I'm trying to say is that it would be great if the people who brand themselves as Gotham's saving grace actually showed up to do the job," Kate interrupted.

"That's not exactly easy to do when we have to deal with regular crime, a new mob of thugs, and Batwoman's messes every other night."

"Oh, now Batwoman is a reason for the lack of progress. What next? Should we blame all the crooks in Arkham for using too much of the city's oxygen?"

"Batwoman is half the reason we're in this situation."

"Interesting theory, but it sounds to me like she's doing the right thing. Unlike your leadership," Kate continued, unphased by the looks of horror coming from Luke and Mary.

"Surprising commentary coming from you," Sophie glared back.

"Meaning?" Kate scowled.

"Meaning your opinion of vigilantes has taken quite a turn lately given how-"

"Hey, guys, how about we-" Luke began in another attempt to defuse the growing tension.

"No, no," Kate interrupted. "I think Sophie is really onto something. Why don't you go ahead and finish that thought? Given how what?"

"Kate, I don't think she meant-"

"Given how Batman didn't stop the car that held Beth and my mother from plunging off of a bridge? Was that it?"

Sophie could only stare back, her mouth open in horror as she realized what she'd nearly just said.

"You want me to hold a grudge against a vigilante who had nothing to do with that moment in my life? The same vigilante who is actually trying to make a difference in this city while you sit on the sidelines and watch people continue to suffer and die because you're too scared to weaponize your task force with the tool that could actually take them down?"

"That isn't why I-"

"Admit it. You're doing a poor job as Lead Crow, Sophie."

Sophie flinched at Kate's remark and suddenly felt the fire in her extinguish. "You're probably right."

"Backing down when things get tough? That would be pretty par for the course," Kate said with unusual sharpness.

"Kate," Mary finally cut in, her scowl doing little to hide the disgust she had toward Kate's words. "I think that's enough."

"Actually, I-I should probably go," Sophie said, moving to stand.

"No, wait," Mary began, rising to follow Sophie. She shot Kate a quick look to intervene, but she remained quietly glaring from the kitchen. "I think if we all just take a breath, and maybe one of us apologizes," she continued, scowling at Kate, "we'll be able to-"

"Thanks for the drinks, Mary," Sophie said, already at the door. She didn't glance back toward Kate, knowing that if she did she might either cry or blow up at her, and neither would end well. Instead, she nodded toward Luke and Mary's perplexed looks before slipping out the door.

A moment of confusion passed through the flat before Mary got her bearings and pivoted toward Kate.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Mary scowled.

"Me? She started it. I didn't do anything," Kate scowled in denial.

"That is such bullshit, and you know it," Mary hissed in annoyance before taking the same path as Sophie from moments earlier.

"Oh, so now you're leaving, too?" Kate gawked.

"No, I'm going to talk to her," Mary shot back.

The second slam felt louder than the first, and just like that Kate and Luke were left alone in the flat.

"Kate… What just happened?" Luke asked, his expression one of confusion but with traces of skepticism. "You just-"

"Parker has a new lead. It's still early enough that I can swing by the joint on the West Side before-"

"Wait, what?" Luke asked, stunned by the sudden pivot. "What does that have to do with-"

"Parker messaged about fifteen minutes ago."

"So?"

"She's been tracking power usage throughout the city and flagged a location that's jumped tonight. It means we can-"

"No, that's not what I... what about Sophie? Wait... was all of that-"

"Yes," Kate remarked with a look of impatience. "We have a chance to get these guys before-"

"How can you be like this?" Luke asked in exasperation. "How can… and with Sophie, I-"

"It's part of the job."

"You did that on purpose. You hurt her on purpose," Luke practically shouted.

"I wasn't trying to hurt her. Either way though it's for the best."

"Do you hear yourself? Do you hear how… Kate, she's not your enemy."

"She's not Batwoman's enemy," Kate clarified.

"So that means she's Kate Kane's?" Luke asked, flummoxed by Kate's rationale.

"No, that's… that's not what I meant."

"Then why do you keep treating her like one? You remember she's the only reason we have access to the Crow's database, right?"

"I'll just ask Parker to-"

"No. Absolutely not. And that's not the point. Sophie is literally one of our only allies, and you keep pushing her away. Why?"

"Because I can't balance both," Kate interrupted, a look of exhaustion fracturing her anger. "I can't… I thought I could do both, but I can't. Especially not now."

"You just let one cocktail hour decide that?" Luke gaped but finally getting Kate's meaning.

"It wasn't… I can't talk about this right now. Are you in or am I going solo tonight?"

Luke hesitated, seeing that Kate's stubbornness was set to a nonnegotiable level and the only thing that could come from pushing the subject was a hoarse voice and her going AWOL into the night alone. "Fine, just… let's just wait until Mary gets back - make sure Sophie has actually left."

Kate nodded, already shutting down the stove and oven.

"Woa, hey, what are you doing?" Luke asked.

"The lamb still has an hour, and I won't be here to take it out-"

"But I will," Luke interrupted, his mouth salivating at the aromas wafting through the flat. "Just because you've decided to play the asshole card and skip out on Sunday roast with your scripted tantrum doesn't mean Mary and I should suffer in hunger.

xx

"Sophie, wait," Mary called, hearing the elevator doors open down the hall. She appeared just in time to block them from closing. "Sophie, I-"

"I-I'm not interested, Mary."

"You don't even know what I was going to say," Mary scowled.

Sophie's eyes narrowed in silent skepticism.

"Kate was an ass," Mary began matter-of-factly. "I'm not going to defend her because she doesn't know what she's talking about most of the time."

"Feels accurate," Sophie muttered. "But that doesn't change-"

"And she doesn't know what it's like for you or the Crows; sure, she was a temporary board member and had to work a few hours for, what, like a month? But that doesn't mean anything. She prances around her penthouse all day and thinks she knows best because she's read one Gotham Gazette article," Mary continued, perhaps doing a little too good of a job covering for Kate's nightly antics. Sophie scowled like she might instinctively try to defend Kate's character, but let Mary continue. "At this point she's more qualified handling tile and paint chips than the variables you're juggling. You've got politicians, the GCPD, the public, your own employees, and my dad; she has one tenant complaining about hot water. It's easy to criticize when you don't have to deal with it in your day-to-day, and she was _way_ out of line."

"You saying that and her saying that are two different things. This isn't… honestly I've never seen her like this."

"You've never seen Kate blindly charge into an argument with nothing but her ego and stubbornness as her guiding light?" Mary replied dryly.

Sophie's eyes relaxed, submitting to a half eye-roll.

"Exactly. I don't know where that came from, but she's in the wrong. Just… just come back inside. Grandma Kane's lamb will make dealing with her highness for the next hour worth it, I promise."

"While you might be right, I can't," Sophie sighed in frustration. "I appreciate you coming out and saying this, but I should go. Honestly, it was a mistake for me to come tonight in the first place; especially with everything... Spatting with Kate is probably a blessing in disguise - I've got a mountain of work to do, and I-"

"You don't need to explain," Mary interrupted sympathetically. "But you should know Luke and I will miss your company."

Sophie chuckled softly. "Interesting; I don't get the impression Luke likes me all that much."

"That's just his face," Mary replied. "Poor guy was born with a concerned scowl on his face."

"Thanks, Mary."

"I'm sorry you're leaving. I'm sorry Kate is such a… a…"

"A Kane?" Sophie offered lightly, but internally she felt gutted. For the second time in a day she'd been verbally assaulted by a voice she carried high regards for. That Kate turned on her so easily wasn't something she expected or could overlook, and she was counting the seconds until the elevator doors would close and she could release the feelings of rejection she'd spent the last day internalizing.

xx

Kate was pacing the flat and Luke was swirling the dredges of his glass of wine at the counter when Mary returned.

"Well, congratulations, you drove the poor girl away," Mary sighed before scowling.

"So she left?" Kate asked hopefully. The announcement jolted her into action, and she grabbed the duffle hidden behind the couch.

"Yes, and you deserve all the credit, you heartless prick. What is wrong with you? I can't believe you would stoop to that level. Why would you say any of - hang on, what are you doing?" Mary froze, breaking from her planned monologue to see Kate pulling out the familiar black and red suit from the bag. "Are you going somewhere?"

"Parker found another joint to check out," Kate explained.

"Are you serious?" Mary cried. "Is that why y-"

"Don't bother," Luke called from the kitchen. "I've already tried."

"You're unbelievable," Mary huffed onto the couch as Kate stepped in the bathroom. "This right here is why you two will never be together," Mary called as the door clicked shut. "You're going to be sad and alone for the rest of your life if you-"

"She knows," Luke said, tossing back the rest of the wine. He grabbed the open bottle and glass before walking to sit next to Mary. He poured a splash into his and then Mary's empty one before handing it to her as Mary let the words play out in her head.

"What she said though. Does she not realize-"

"Later," Luke interrupted.

They sat in a tense silence, Luke anticipating the night ahead and Mary curating a list of questions to pepper Luke with once Kate left. When Kate finally emerged from the bathroom in her suit, Mary was nearly finished with her glass of wine and Luke's was practically untouched.

"Ok, I'll swing by the first building and scope it out for activity then head north to the new spot. You'll patch Parker through?" Kate asked, digging into the duffle for her cowl.

"Yea, just let me know when you're in position," Luke said, jumping up from the couch to fetch his computer.

"Given last night's snafu, we should probably assume the Crows aren't an option tonight."

"Snafu is a bit of an understatement," Luke muttered, "but agreed; which means-"

"Recon only," Kate interrupted, anticipating Luke's lecture about safety and constant vigilance. She walked over to the window, unlatching it and swinging it open to grapple out of. "Unless we tap the GCPD-?"

A quick glare was all Kate needed to know Luke wasn't entertaining the GCPD as an option, and he wasn't about to let her use that as an excuse to get reckless.

"Fine, fine. Let me know if you hear anything on the radios," Kate said, unholstering her grappling gun.

"We need to find a better way for you to exit the flat," Luke noted from behind his screen. "It's going to get pretty obvious if Batwoman keeps jumping out of the same window."

"Add it to the list; right below Batsuit 2.0," Kate said. "And Mary, don't let the lamb burn. My phone has the timer."

"Oh, sure, seclude me to kitchen duty. I just love playing housewife," Mary scoffed in faux annoyance, counting the seconds until Kate would leave so she could pounce on Luke with her list of questions.

"The lamb is literally the most important thing," Kate replied easily. "Anything less than perfection and this whole night will be a failure."

Mary rolled her eyes as the sound of the grappling gun shot into the dark and moments later Kate leapt out into the same, leaving a cool summer breeze in her wake.

"Ok," Mary said, turning to Luke with bubbling anticipation, "now tell me everything."


	29. Chapter 29

"Ok, spill," Mary said impatiently.

Luke had just returned from the hall where he had to 'make a quick call' which only furthered Mary's anticipation for details on the latest Kate and Sophie drama. She was counting down the seconds until her window of time to interrogate Luke would be interrupted by Kate checking in for instruction, and each passing moment was one less question she could bully him with.

"Kate's going to be checking in soon, and I need to-"

" _Luke_ ," Mary cried with the pout of a toddler.

"What?" he asked, mildly perplexed by the outburst.

"You said 'later'. It's later now," she reasoned.

"That is not inaccurate. But I need to get everything set up otherwise Kate will have my head."

Mary hovered closely as Luke focused his attention on pulling up the surrounding surveillance cameras, tuning in to the GCPD and Crows radio, and checking in with Parker. Things were harder to coordinate from the flat than the batcave if only for the lack of screen count and internet. He had his and Kate's laptop to work with, but the screens weren't very large, and the internet lagged worse than a 3G cell phone connection. He grumbled at the glitching network connection and made a mental note to add it to the list of things to nag Kate about. If she wanted to run operations out of the penthouse, she needed to upgrade her internet to a solution that didn't include a hanger and duct tape.

"Ok, we're set," Luke announced, leaning back in relief as he surveyed his work. He was tracking Kate's movement through the city, and, by his calculations, she was still five to ten minutes out depending on the winds, GCPD patrols, and her efficiency with the grappling hook. The latter was becoming less of a factor, but there was still the rare occasion that a poorly placed aim would send her on an unplanned detour.

"How about now?" Mary whispered from beside him. Luke's eyes instinctively closed in annoyance before he gave a small nod.

"But the moment Kate checks in-"

"I know, I know. My lips will be sealed," Mary promised.

"Fine. What do you want to know?"

"Everything."

* * *

"Soph-er, Agent Moore, uh ma'am, hi."

"Don't look so disappointed to see me," Sophie scowled at the distorted expression on Paulie's face as she entered the office's kitchen area.

"I'm not; I just thought you were off today."

"Your attention to detail is slipping, Paulie. I was in earlier."

"You were in… and you came back?" Paulie asked.

"Plans ended early," Sophie replied off-handedly as she ducked her head into the fridge in search of a bite. She'd not bothered to grab anything on her commute back over to headquarters and the grumble from her stomach that echoed in the elevator moments earlier sent her on a hunt for sustenance.

"So you decided to come into the office? It's… it's nearly nine," Paulie gaped after checking his watch.

"Says the kettle. What are you still doing here?" Sophie replied, peering around the door at the spread of papers on the table.

"Paperwork, ma'am," Paulie sighed.

"And you set up shop in the kitchen for this?" Sophie asked, pulling out fixings to make a sandwich.

"The main space was a little… er… rowdy, ma'am."

"Oh?" Sophie asked, beginning to apply various layers to a slice of bread and knowing it would taste nowhere near as good as the lamb she'd just left.

"Uhm…"

At this Sophie looked up to give Paulie a questioning look.

"Jacob's been, er…"

"Ah," Sophie said in understanding.

Silence fell between them as Sophie finished compiling her sandwich and Paulie returned his attention to the stack of unfinished work. Things had been… chaotic after the task force came up empty the night before. 'Empty' wasn't entirely true - they had arrested someone, but the results were exactly as Sophie had expected: he was a lackey who had just enough information to intrigue her but nothing solid to forward their investigation. At least, nothing he would admit to without questionable provocation. It was one of the more challenging lines Sophie refused to cross. If it had been Jacob, the interrogation would have easily gotten more physical, but she had her own rules: at the very top was to be a human being.

She may disagree with the guy, think he's a criminal, and want nothing more than to bash in his condescending grin, but if she let that side of her out, it would spread like wildfire and become a new norm among the task force. She had to lead by example, and no matter what, they needed to be better than the thugs: if they weren't the examples of change, there was little hope the seed of it would ever be planted in Gotham. Even under this months-long cloud that threatened the city, she refused to accept that breaking the law was the way to resolve things… with one or two exceptions: she'd been willing to bend the rules when it came to Batwoman.

That's what made this loss sting more than others. She'd had setbacks over the last few months, and going toe-to-toe with Jacob who had a very different mindset was draining, but there was always the silver-lining of doing the right thing. The botched raid had consequences: because Sophie had pulled four patrols off their routes to set up blockades, a number of communities were left unsupported. In one borough, an arsonist set fire to three abandoned buildings populated with squatters who were now back on the unsafe streets. In another, a gang of teens robbed a string of corner stores at gunpoint. In a third, a woman was shot while crossing the street and nearly bled out before a passerby took notice.

The failures were enough to break past the crumbling defense she had that kept Jacob at bay. News of the missed crime sprees trickled back to Jacob who took the opportunity to pounce. He'd slowly been building up unanimous support to reinstate him as Lead Crow for the last few weeks, and Sophie knew she was biding her time until that inevitability took hold. She wasn't naive to the fact that money and power controlled the politics of things like this - especially in Gotham. She'd just hoped it would have lasted a week or two longer.

The notice of change was lamely distributed to the task force by email, but that did little to temper the sudden shock of receiving it. Sophie was seated in the back of a Crow's truck when a series of chimes echoed throughout the overcrowded space and phones were quickly pulled out to investigate the cause of the sweeping noise. A silence fell among the men as they read the memo informing them that Jacob Kane, through an emergency vote, had been elevated to the position of Lead Crow.

The only silver lining was that Sophie's status as Lead Crow had not been revoked. Instead, leadership was to be shared under the title of co-Lead Crow; however, it was becoming clear her's was a title in name only. In less time than it took for Sophie to get back to headquarters, Jacob had enacted sweeping changes to Crow policy that either regressed protocol to before Sophie's tenure or expanded upon existing rules which allowed for more broad sweeping use of violence. In no scenario did it lend itself toward diplomacy of any sort, and there was a celebration by Jacob's closest allies for this 'return to normalcy' that ensued with his reinstatement.

The chair next to Paulie shifted and he jumped, startled by Sophie taking a seat next to him.

"Pickle?" Sophie asked, sliding the plate toward him.

"Oh, sure. Thanks," he said, snagging one of the spears as Sophie took a bite of her own.

"Now, let's take a look at these files."

"Oh, no, that - that's ok. I can take care of it-"

"Are you kidding? I haven't gotten to fill out an E-73 form in ages. This is going to be fun," Sophie grinned, sliding the half-finished form toward her.

"Your definition of fun is a little different than mine."

"Is that because you're a B-16 form kind of guy?" Sophie continued lightly and was rewarded by a small chuckle from Paulie.

"Uh, actually, I really enjoy the S-forms."

"That's because you're a natural at small-scale single squad missions. But if you ever want to run large-scale operations you need to start thinking at a broader scale. Here, you do the E-73 form - you need the practice. I'll do the review of debriefs, then we'll tackle the S-series together. Deal?"

"Really? That… that would be so helpful."

"Believe me, you're the one doing me the favor," Sophie said easily before settling into the stack of distraction.

* * *

"So they're both stubborn and unwilling to be the first to say anything," Mary summed up after Luke's brief description.

"Yes and no. Kate is… she's becoming a lot like Bruce. Closed off, stubborn, uncompromising. Even if Sophie were to say anything, I can't see that making a dent with Kate," Luke clarified. There was a somberness to his tone that Mary couldn't help to notice. "Maybe a few months ago there was a chance, but now…"

"And this is all because of Batwoman?" Mary asked, and Luke nodded.

"But again, I don't have a lot of... this is mostly just speculation," Luke qualified for the third time in the last ten minutes.

Mary sat and pondered what Luke had just shared. She'd let the romantic side of her imagine a fairytale ending for Sophie and Kate on more than one occasion. It all started when Kate returned home after Sophie had been taken, and now that she knew Kate and Batwoman shared the same address, she couldn't help but mentally dance with untethered giddiness that Sophie and Batwoman had once locked lips in secret.

"Why won't Kate just tell her she's Batwoman?" Mary asked finally.

"Pride?" Luke offered. He'd wondered the same thing for the last few months. If anything, it would make their investigation much simpler if they could share intel without throwing out burner phones every other week.

"Ugh, why is she so much like Jacob."

"And Bruce," Luke muttered.

"That Kane streak of stubbornness."

"She might also be afraid," Luke pondered.

"Kate isn't afraid of things," Mary replied easily. She had years of experience growing up with Kate to know that much.

"That's what she likes people to believe, but… well…" Luke trailed off for a moment, weighing how upfront to be about Kate's run-ins with the fear toxin.

"Well what?" Mary pressed.

"Luke, we clear?"

The sound of Kate's voice over the speaker startled them both, and Luke quickly unmute the mic to respond.

"Yep, I've got Parker on standby. She says the readings are consistent with last night's so that's a good sign. There are two stakeout locations that give decent vantage points of the site. One is half a block due east; this will give you a view of the front. Another location is a full block north but sits higher and gives us a view of the back," Luke rattled off with practiced precision.

"Great. I'll scope out both."

* * *

"Hey, what are you two still doing here?" came Renee's voice from the doorway. She looked the shining example of a haggard, overworked, underpaid, and exhausted rookie. The fluorescent lighting of the kitchen was not doing the bags under her eyes any favors, and her reason for appearing was obvious: she made a beeline for the coffee pot and refilled the mug in her hands with the dark sludge. From the looks of the mug, it either hadn't been cleaned in days, or Renee had just cycled through that many cups on her latest shift. Sophie guessed the latter.

"Paperwork," Paulie said with sincerity that made Renee's eyes roll.

"I'm not blind. That much was evident," Renee sighed as she ripped open a satchel of sugar. "But _why_ are you working on it?"

"You were at the site last night, right?" Sophie asked, shuffling through a forgotten stack of papers.

"And morning," Renee complained as she brought the much-needed caffeine to her lips. "Why?" she asked, slurping through the first scalding sip.

"Did you debrief?" Sophie asked, scowling at the papers. "I don't see you here."

"I… uh… no."

"No?" Sophie asked, her eyebrows raised the way a school teacher might to reprimand a student.

"I started but then… it's just so boring," Renee complained.

"Go get it," Sophie said sternly.

Renee set her cup down grumpily before half-stomping out of the kitchen to fetch her unfinished homework. The slight smirk that played out across Sophie's face relaxed Paulie who had practically fallen out of his seat, baffled that Renee had the gaul to complain about paperwork or protocol to Sophie Moore.

A minute later Renee came in, an excuse already pouring out of her mouth, "Ok, so maybe I didn't really start, but honestly, it was all mundane and boring and… you know, like, stuff. I was glued to a chair all night."

"How much is filled out?" Sophie asked, suppressing an eyeroll.

"I've got my name and badge number and… shit, was yesterday the tenth?"

"Eleventh," Paulie offered.

Renee groaned as she scratched out the error and scribbled the correct date above it.

"Well lucky for you, there's a fully functioning third chair just waiting for you."

"Are you serious?"

"Deadly," Sophie replied, but a glint in her eye betrayed her poker face. "If it's as mundane as you said it was, you'll be done in no time."

* * *

"This is useless," Kate huffed over the speaker. She'd been surveying the building from afar for nearly an hour with no sign of activity. Her patience was waning, and Luke half-wondered how much was because the blue poppy gang hadn't appeared and how much was over her missing out on dinner.

"Oh, I don't know. You being gone means more lamb for us," Luke said through a mouthful of the tender meat.

"What I mean is, it's useless if I'm just watching from a rooftop," Kate replied, her annoyance clear, even through the white noise of the city.

"Hey, you're the one who wanted to go out tonight," Mary chimed in, and Luke shot her an appreciative grin. It was nice having a second voice call out Kate's grumpiness.

"I'm gonna go check it out," Kate replied, her patience dissipating entirely.

"What? No, we agreed recon only," Luke said, his tone far less lighthearted than moments earlier.

"I'm not looking to fight anyone," Kate explained, and the sound of the grappling hook meant she was already leaving her post.

"Kate," Luke called, his attention leaving the plate of food and focusing on the unresponsive Batwoman on the other side of the city. "That is not what recon is, and you know it."

"Too late, I'm going in."

"I'm going to eat every last bite of this lamb if you continue," Mary threatened, but the deed was done, and Kate was soaring toward the building.

"Yo, you guys still need me?" came Parker's voice over the speaker.

Mary jumped, forgetting this Parker person had been on the line the entire time.

"Cause you keep talking about dinner, and now I'm starving."

"Kate is bound to scare everyone off shortly, so just let us know when the power slips. Should only be another ten minutes," Luke offered in apology.

Mary hesitated for a moment, glancing between the unfinished food and speaker before diving back in her food. The sound of utensils against plateware countered the cityscape as Kate maneuvered her way closer to the building.

"Ugh, at least mute yourselves. I can literally hear you two eating," Parker complained.

* * *

"Hey, check out the flooring of the basement. It's got a bunch of weird lines on it," Paulie said. "You ever seen anything like this?" he asked, sliding a picture to Sophie to scrutinize it.

"It's a labyrinthe," Renee muttered, not looking up from her own paperwork. She was now on her third fresh form after messing up the first two.

"What?" Paulie asked, his eyes jumping back to the photos.

"I called it a maze, but-" Renee began before cutting herself off, realizing she'd said too much.

"But what?" Sophie asked.

"Hm?" Renee asked with a look of confusion. "What?"

"This," Sophie said, lifting a photo toward Renee. "How did you know it was a labyrinthe?"

"Oh, you know… it's pretty obvious," Renee muttered.

"And how did you know about it? I thought you were 'glued to the chair' all night," Sophie asked, unable to hide her skepticism and surprise.

"I, uh… I didn't know. I overheard it, I think, maybe."

"Maybe?"

"Probably?" Renee offered hopefully.

"You know your vest does more than track vitals, right? It includes gps," Sophie said. "So if I were to go and check yours from last night, there's no chance I'd see you wandering from your post, would I?"

A staredown between Renee and Sophie quickly ended with a small scoff of annoyance from Renee.

"Ok, ok. But if I tell you, you have to promise you won't fire me," Renee said cautiously.

Paulie's eyes nearly bulged from his head at the remark, but Sophie barely batted an eye.

"If you're worried about being fired-"

"Well, I just… it's not anything _you_ haven't done," Renee said cryptically, glancing nervously at Paulie.

"Meaning?" Sophie asked.

"Uh… can Paulie leave for a minute?"

"No," Sophie said evenly.

"I just… you might not want him to hear this," Renee continued cautiously.

"I can go-" Paulie began, already rising to leave.

"No, you're fine," Sophie continued, sensing what off-limits topic was about to be revealed. "It's fine; he can hear it."

Renee's eyes bounced between an uncomfortable-looking Paulie and a stubborn-looking Sophie before letting out a small sigh of defeat. "Your friend showed up and wanted to check out the building."

"Why? There wasn't anything there," Sophie replied, mentally scanning for anything that was amiss. The Crows had done a sweep of the whole building and found absolutely no evidence that anyone other than the captured guy sitting in holding was occupying the space. On top of that, there was nothing remotely suspicious about the building - it was just another abandoned building like any other in Gotham. A dime a dozen.

"She seemed to think there was."

"Were you with her the entire time?" Sophie asked, hoping Renee would say yes. A quick nod was all the affirmation she needed to continue. "This stays off the record and doesn't leave this room," she continued with a hushed voice, glancing at Paulie and Renee for understanding. "What happened? Where did you go?"

"Just the basement and… honestly, you probably know more than me," Renee explained.

"How could I? I wasn't there," Sophie scowled.

"The roof. After," Renee replied, her head cocking to the side in confusion.

Sophie only stared back, clearly lost.

"Didn't you get my text last night?" Renee asked in surprise.

"Y-yes?" Sophie replied. "But what does that have to do wi-"

"It was code."

"How was your message code?"Sophie asked, pulling out her phone and navigating to it, all while struggling to contain her exasperation. "You're telling me 'be at top half' is code? For what?"

"B-A-T," Renee replied, gaping at Sophie's confusion. "She was going to meet you on the Crow's roof in thirty minutes."

"And I was supposed to get all of that from this?"

"I thought it was pretty obvious," Renee scowled, annoyed at the lack of appreciation for her tactics. "Besides, it's not like you messaged me back for an explanation."

"I was a bit preoccupied. Have you ever taken a course in cryptography?" Sophie scowled.

"I've never liked hieroglyphs," Renee replied with a tone befitting her ignorance. "But my guess is she wanted to share something with you that she didn't trust me with."

"Such as?"

"Well how would I know? She was in the basement for all of five minutes before bolting."

"Why the basement?" Sophie asked.

"Beats me," Renee replied.

"Ok, tell us everything that happened. Don't leave anything out," Sophie said.

"Fine, but I'm going to need more coffee for this," Renee huffed.

* * *

"I think the hole leads to a larger tunnel, but I have no way of knowing how to get inside."

Kate's version of recon had her in a basement much like the night before, only this time there were no industrial-grade lighting fixtures and no goon to capture. It didn't help that Kate hadn't exactly been savvy in her arrival. A broken window had echoed through the night and likely gave the blue poppy gang enough warning to hightail it out of there. Parker had confirmed as much when the energy use plummeted shortly after.

"Well, if you had waited until after I went to the city planning to check it out we wouldn't be going into this blind," Luke scowled. He'd been holding onto the jab for just the right moment, and Kate set him up perfectly.

The truth was that he disagreed wholly with Kate going out tonight, but there was little room for that opinion when Kate's bullheadedness was involved. It was clear the night was nonnegotiable when she'd all but told Sophie to go to hell. That was a new level of brashness and not one Luke knew how to broach. On top of that, they hadn't debriefed fully from the night before and were no more informed than twenty four hours earlier. Worse, Kate was going in alone and without the chance of back-up. The Crows weren't an option since Kate had practically burned the one bridge they had in Sophie the night before. The GCPD were, for lack of a better term, incompetent. It wasn't necessarily their fault: when news of the blue poppy gang hit the headlines following the Gotham parade incident, the remaining senior staff all but fled into retirement. Gotham crime had slowly been creeping up for years since Bruce left, but it had been sustainable for a well-connected corrupt cop. This new gang didn't play by the normal rules of corruption though, and anyone was a target. This motivated the experienced to flee, leaving a pack of rookies in their wake.

What came next was mediocre patrolling, missed procedures, and even greater backlash from the public. The number of calls flooding the GCPD hotline was greater than the current staff could handle and their botched plans for the blue poppy gang put them below the Crows in the race for Gotham's preferred law enforcement.

In other words, Luke wouldn't trust the GCPD to provide security to a toddler's birthday party much less as back-up for Batwoman.

Luke shook himself back to the moment and realized Mary had been speaking.

"Sorry?" Luke asked. "I missed that last bit…"

Mary rolled her eyes before repeating herself: "If it's all connected underground why not just try the sewers?"

Luke shook his head. "It's unlikely the city hooked up a bunch of basements to the sewer lines. One bad storm and they'd all be flooded."

"So this is a separate network of tunnels," Kate pondered through the speaker. "That would require a hell of a lot of planning to navigate around Gotham's existing infrastructure."

"Which is probably one of the reasons it failed. To implement a city-wide labyrinthian network of tunnels would require they sit above or below the sewer lines," Luke replied.

"No offense, but like, do we think Gotham officials thought that far ahead?" Mary asked.

"What do you mean?" Luke asked.

"I mean, we aren't a city known for having politicians with the greatest foresight. Remember when they tried to excavate a lake in the middle of Robinson Park?"

"You mean the reservoir?" Kate asked.

"No, this was two years ago. It was an initiative to provide a source of clean water for the public to go swimming in the summers," Luke clarified.

"Isn't that what the reservoir was supposed to be?" Kate asked in confusion. "I remember when I was a kid it was supposed to be used for that exact same thing because all the beaches were polluted and filled with used needles and glass and bodies," she said dryly.

"Pretty much. Instead of trying to clean up the reservoir, they decided to start from scratch. Plans were rushed through and construction began a month after the project was announced-"

"Mind you, this was all being done in an election year," Mary interrupted.

"Ah, of course," Kate said in understanding.

"They dug up truckloads of earth and quickly realized no plans had been established to offload the dirt anywhere. On top of that they didn't consider the old subway lines running under the park until it was too late."

"Didn't something like twenty people die in the collapse?" Mary asked.

"Twenty?" Kate asked in surprise. "How?"

"Twenty-two," Luke confirmed after pulling up an article. "They had rows upon rows of dump trucks filled to the brim surrounding the job. When one of the diggers struck the tunnel's walls, it collapsed in on itself."

"I remember the photos. It was like a row of dominos," Mary sighed.

"What do you mean?" Kate asked, unable to visualize what was projected on Luke's screen or in Mary's memory.

"The old subway tunnel under the park hadn't been inspected for years and had apparently deteriorated from water damage caused by the reservoir. Add to that concentrated loads from all the dump trucks and one poorly placed hole and you get one hell of a mess."

"They tried to cover it up pretty quickly. I don't think they even tried removing the dump trucks from the pits - they just threw dirt over them," Mary said.

"I'd believe it," Luke scowled, falling back into his chair in defeat.

"Which gets me back to my original point: I'd bet half my inheritance the planners for this project didn't think about the sewer lines until it was too late," Mary concluded.

"While that's not a bad theory, that doesn't help us very much," Luke sighed. "I can access the maps, but all it does is tell us where the tunnels aren't. We still don't know where or how to access the main network."

"Maybe I could just blow up this wall," Kate suggested, and Luke could hear the impatience in her voice.

"That would be a terrible idea."

"Why? It would get us access and-"

"We literally just talked about how one poorly placed shovel collapsed and killed over twenty people. You really want to take that risk on an old foundation wall?" Mary inserted to Luke's surprise. He felt another wave of comfort in having another voice of reason at the table to push back against Kate and contemplated inviting Mary along for more outings.

A contemplative white noise fell through the speaker as Kate weighed Mary's words.

"Fine," she said simply, and Luke let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Kate wasn't reckless per se, but some of her actions lately had trended toward it. "I'm going to check out the rest of the building."

They heard the white noise terminate, signalling that Kate had just cut communication.

"Is she always this bullish?" Mary asked, scowling at the speaker as though it were Kate.

"You have more experience with her than me, _sister_."

" _Step_ -sister. And I'm serious," she said with a hint of concern in her voice.

"Honestly, I thought she'd cool off after her last run-in with fear toxin," Luke said darkly. It was an out-of-nowhere admission but one that he'd been thinking about the last few nights. He thought Kate's deteriorating temper had been from Luke always being at odds with her, but he was slowly realizing this short fuse applied to anyone.

"When was this?"

"A couple weeks ago; right before she outed herself to you," Luke replied. "She's still feeling the effects of it though. I don't think she's gotten a full night's sleep in a month or two. It's almost like the toxin has made her more reckless."

Mary nodded in thought. "She asked me for adrenaline. She said it was precautionary, but if years of history is anything to go off-"

"It'll just incentivize her to be brasher," Luke finished. He felt a sting of annoyance at Mary's admission: when Kate had told Luke she'd revealed her identity to Mary, she'd conveniently left out the detail about adrenaline. "How much did you give her?"

"2000 micrograms."

Luke stared blankly back.

"The typical dosage is 500 micrograms; she has four doses," Mary clarified.

"Does she know it's supposed to be four doses and not one?"

"Obviously. I didn't just give her a giant vial - I'm a better vigilante medical student than that; they're divided into separate portions."

* * *

"This suggests the basement had been retrofitted into a geothermal labyrinthe," Sophie said, surveying the city records. The three of them had migrated to Kate's old office where privacy wasn't an issue - it was a parting gift from Kate when she'd resigned her role that she kept the 'muffler' intact, meaning conversation didn't require hushed voices or code.

That Cobblepot had bugged all of headquarters had skipped Sophie's mind half an hour ago when Renee first mentioned Batwoman, and she was suddenly grateful that Renee had enough tact not to say her name out loud. The 'B-A-T' was another issue, but something that could be waved off until it became a problem.

"Why would a property owner want this?" Paulie asked. "It seems like a huge waste of space and money."

"My guess is the dude put up some walls for a hot minute so he could pocket whatever green the city was willing to pay and then demolished them shortly after to regain the square footage," Renee said simply.

Sophie was impressed how well the two worked together: Paulie was thorough in his research but naive while Renee was haphazard with her studies but had the street smarts of someone who was raised by Gotham. Together, they were beginning to quickly unravel the web of mystery from the night before.

"The dude is a woman," Paulie clarified.

"A woman? Women don't own things," Renee said sardonically.

"Women can own things," Paulie said defensively.

"She was making a joke," Sophie interjected. This was her role on the team: she knew both of them well and could moderate as needed. Knowing Renee's sense of humor and Paulie's type-A personality, while working well now, could easily clash and veer off course. "Who owns it?"

"Delia Pflaum," Paulie continued. "But she died years ago."

"If it's still under her name that means it's probably part of an estate," Sophie added, already typing a web search. What she saw nearly made her jaw drop.

"What is it?" Renee asked, noting the reaction from Sophie.

"Dr. Randolph Butler oversees the management of the properties owned by his late wife, Delia Pflaum."

"Butler? Is that name supposed to mean something?" Renee asked, failing to grasp the connection.

"Dr. Butler is renowned for his work at Arkham Asylum," Paulie explained but also had a look of confusion on his face, not understanding the significance of his name.

"He's also known for his use of fear toxin on patients," Sophie added, earning a look of surprise from both Renee and Paulie.

"Excuse me?" Renee asked, finding her voice first. "You mean this dude just so happens to be using the same chemical that is causing mayhem throughout the whole city?"

"I haven't been able to find anything that connects him to the attacks before this," Sophie clarified. "We can't act without evidence, and it was purely speculative and circumstantial until now."

"It's hard to look for evidence when we don't know to look for it. How long have you suspected him?" Renee gaped, vocalizing the blindsidedness her and Paulie were both feeling.

"A few months. I've kept it quiet because the last thing I need is a slip-up and for Butler to flee before we can nail him with anything," Sophie explained.

There was an awkward moment of silence as Renee and Paulie grappled with the fact that Sophie hadn't trusted them with this information.

"Better late than never," Paulie spoke up. He hid his disappointment well, and the even tone of his response deflated the argument building inside of Renee. "You said he managed all of her properties. Does that mean she has others?"

"I'll grab a map," Renee said, piggybacking off Paulie's willingness to let the slight go, and Sophie felt a small smile of gratitude break over her face.

* * *

"Who was that?" Mary asked, noting the scowl cast over Luke's face as his thumbs flew over his phone's keyboard.

"What?" Luke stammered in surprise, quickly setting his phone down. "No one."

"Are you messaging a girl?" Mary grinned, her eyes interrogating him for an admission.

"What? No," he sputtered.

"This right here is the reaction a teenage boy has when his mom catches him messaging a girl," Mary smirked. "Out with it. Who is she?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. It was a notification from the Gotham Gazette," Luke explained away.

"Oh? What about? I didn't get one of those," Mary replied skeptically.

"I get them for all of the sections."

"What was the headline?"

Instead of responding, Luke's eyes suddenly honed in on Kate's activities and he let out a small curse of realization. He quickly opened a new tab and began furiously typing into the search engine.

"Luke?" Mary pressed, not letting his dramatics dissuade her.

"It's the subway."

"What?" Kate called through the mic. Luke had practically whispered the phrase, and even Mary barely caught that he'd said anything at first.

"They're using the subway tunnels to travel between locations," he said with greater confidence.

"Are you sure?" Kate asked skeptically, but even within that there was an obvious spring in her voice.

"I… I think so," Luke answered. "You're fifteen feet from one of the closed lines."

"Can you guide me to the closest entrance?" Kate asked, a smile beaming through her voice.

"Yea… go one block south. There's a service door on the southwest corner."

A growing excitement buzzed between them as Kate navigated her way to the location, and there was an even greater sense of success when Kate confirmed the deadbolt on the door had been destroyed. This had to mean it was recently accessed.

"I'm going to check it out," came Kate's voice.

"Are you sure? Maybe it'd be best if we w-"

"Luke, they've already left - Parker told us as much. This is guaranteed to be the lamest search party ever," Kate insisted.

Luke hesitated for a moment before hearing the service door creak open, and he realized there was little hope in persuading her out of going in.

"Are you serious?" Mary asked. "This could be so dangerous."

"Relax, Mary, we do this kind of thing all the time. Right, Luke?"

"Uh…" Luke balked at the speaker and melted under the stare from Mary.

"Luke's face doesn't agree with you, Kate," Mary continued.

"Ok, well you two hash it out. I'm tapping coms off for a bit. I can't have your white noise in my ears while I scope things out."

"Fine but flag us if you need anything," Luke replied. "And be-"

"Safe. I know, I know. Thanks for the reminder, mom."

The city sounds cut off and Mary looked beside herself with shock at the cavalier nature with which Luke voluntarily let Kate sign off from their only string of communication.

"What did you just do?" she scowled in obvious skepticism. "She could be attacked or kidnapped or… or… you just let her go off on her own?"

Luke surveyed her with a humored smirk. "I get that you're concerned, but what does keeping her on the line do for us exactly?"

"We won't know if she's been attacked!" Mary practically yelled, confused that Luke wouldn't recognize this most obvious truth.

"Right, because we, miles away, can do so much to help her if that happens."

Mary's mouth opened and closed a handful of times as she processed what Luke said.

"Besides, the suit tracks her vitals. Even without verbal communication I know her whereabouts and status. It's actually better because, unlike Kate, the suit doesn't lie."

Mary relaxed at this, noting for the first time the window fixed on the upper left-hand side of Luke's monitor which tracked Kate's steady heart rate. Below that, she could see an unnecessarily techy looking map of Gotham city and a small red dot which indicated Kate's real-time location.

"Hm," was all she could say, as she interrogated the computer more closely. Just then a blip on the screen made her scowl. "So what happens when you lose signal on the suit?"

"When?"

"Because I think that's what just happened," Mary said, pointing to the vital tracker, noting the feedback lagged.

"Oh, shit. That's never happened before," Luke said nervously.

"Can't you like, call her or something?" Mary asked.

"I'm trying."

* * *

"Well that only took two hours longer than it needed to," Renee sighed into a stretch. Exhaustion didn't begin to describe the state of her mind and body, and she was already imagining her dumpy apartment and welcoming bed.

"Thanks for staying," Sophie said appreciatively as her and Paulie gathered the files they'd been pouring over. "This was good work. Take tomorrow off - both of you."

"Are you kidding? First real lead in months and you expect me to stay away?" Renee asked with a smirk, her tiredness masked by the renewed glimmer of excitement in her eyes. "This is half the fun. Besides, I can take it - I'm still young. Paulie?"

"Agreed."

Renee chuckled at the reserved way Paulie spoke. He was a weird kid, but Renee could see why Sophie liked him so much: diligent, hard-working, a conservative thinker, and slow to anger. He was the exact opposite of Renee.

"So who's up for a drink?" Renee asked.

"There's a curfew," Paulie replied, clearly not hearing the joke in Renee's voice.

"We'll go out for drinks when we catch these guys," Sophie promised as she pulled open the door to the tiny closet and checked the hall to make sure the coast was clear.

"As long as the company is paying," Renee replied easily, throwing an arm over Paulie's shoulder and ushering him out of the cramped space. Sophie split from them, heading toward her office to deposit the files while the other two made a beeline for the bank of elevators.

In three hours they had accomplished more than the Crows had in three months, and she couldn't help but wonder how much of it was tied to the circumstances of the night before. She'd spent the last day fighting off stabs of anger and resentment toward Batwoman for leading her into a failed mission, but now there was a glimmer of hope, and perhaps it hadn't been a complete loss. There was the fact she'd missed Renee's overly cryptic message about Batwoman, but part of her imagined they'd just stumbled upon the same information she had the night before.

She needed to weave together a plan of action, but their working theory gave her a lot to go off. Paulie was the one who had made the connection of the geothermal labyrinthes with the larger city network:

" _What about the subway?" he'd asked._

" _What part of 'underground' are you not understanding?" Renee sighed with growing impatience. They'd studied the sewer lines and come up dry and were spitballing other possibilities._

" _The original subway," Paulie explained. "The one we knew of is above-ground because the city was too developed for an underground system like New York City."_

Once that theory was voiced, it took no time at all to trace the city's plans back to them, and an hour later they'd crafted a plausible theory: the gang was traveling around the city using the existing underground network established from the failed subway system. It explained why there was never any obvious CCTV of them moving around the city: they didn't need to. This was fed by Batwoman's theory that the blue poppies were being grown in mobile equipment.

That it had been forgotten over the years wasn't necessarily a surprise: the tunnels had been just one of hundreds of failed infrastructure projects that littered the city. Unlike most projects which remained half-finished and visible like the remains of the Roman Forum, the failed subway system was concealed by buildings and pavement. The city's failure to consider existing sewage and foundations had resulted in abandoning the underground mass transit decades ago for an above ground solution instead.

She had just arrived at her office when a ping chimed. She placed the stack of files and computer onto her desk and retrieved her phone from her pocket to check the latest notification. What began as a scowl slowly faded into a small smile as she read the message.

* * *

"Where have you been?" Mary hissed in a tone reminiscent of Mrs. Weasley. That her hands were on her hips did little to minimise the impression.

"What?" Kate asked, removing the cowl. "I've been in constant communication."

"You said you were on your way back nearly an hour ago," Mary scowled.

"You try hopping across the entire city using a grappling hook and roofs," Kate scowled as she kicked off her boots.

"Are you hurt? You didn't respond for a while on the-"

"Mary, I'm fine. Take a leaf from Luke's book," she said, gesturing toward the passed out form on the couch.

Mary scoffed as Kate stepped into the kitchen and guzzled down a glass of water before making her way to the bathroom. It was a handful of minutes before she returned, clothed in shorts and a t-shirt with the suit tucked under one arm. Mary had curated a plate of leftovers for Kate who gratefully grabbed it and posted up at the bar.

"So you find anything?" Mary asked, trying to make small talk as Kate chugged another glass of water.

"Not really. I'll go back again tomorrow. It's a good lead," she replied before shoveling a bite of lamb into her mouth and letting out an indulgent sigh.

Silence followed for a few more bites, and Mary took a seat next to Kate. It was only when Kate looked up, her fork hung midair, and she saw the hesitant look on Mary's face.

"What?" Kate asked, seeing Mary's internal struggle on full display.

"Look, I get we're not super experienced in the whole 'sisterly advice' or whole bonding thing-"

"Mary, I'm not-"

"-but you were a real ass tonight. Like, an unforgivable ass. The things you said to Sophie… I get you want to catch these guys, but there has to be a way to do it that doesn't ruin relationships."

Kate didn't reply, instead turning her attention to the plate of food. The sound of utensils paired with Luke's rhythmic breathing from the couch filled the silence for another minute.

"Why are you pushing her away?" Mary asked quietly. She'd held the words in her mouth for the last few hours and had been half-afraid to ask them for fear of Kate's reaction. Instead what followed was more silence, but Mary could sense there was something different about this round of quiet. She studied Kate's face and recognized a scowl of thought had replaced the blank indifference from moments before.

Mary waited. Like those closest to Kate, Mary knew not to push her into saying anything for fear of being confronted with a wall of stubborn rejection. Mary wasn't quite as versed in this side of Kate in recent years as, say, Luke or Sophie, but she'd become attuned to it when her mom and Jacob had started dating. For being five years younger than Kate, she felt a kinship unmatched to anyone else in her life - whether Kate agreed or not. That and there were a thousand things she looked up to her for. Mary was an open book to Kate; day one she'd been eager to have a friend and sister in Kate, and she tried over and over to win her affection by gabbing a mile a minute and gushing over every detail of Kate's life. She was this cool, confident, sexy babe who seemed comfortable in anything she did and said. Mary, on the other hand, was the awkward self-conscious teen struggling to find her place in her new family. It hadn't come easy, and if asked, Mary would be hesitant to describe their relationship, but over the years a bond had been formed. It was one of an older sibling amusing the clingy younger sibling.

One of the few victories Mary held dear was that she'd learned how to read some of the subtleties that made Kate tick over that time. It hadn't taken Kate long to know each and every one of Mary's buttons and how exactly to activate them, but the same couldn't be said for Mary of Kate. It was one of the things that made them so different: Kate had a knack for reading situations and rooms while Mary had been raised simply to try grabbing the attention of the room with little thought about who or what else was going on.

"I'm not doing it because I don't… it's for the best," Kate finally said with the same cryptic response that left Mary unsatisfied.

"But why? Why is it for the best?" Mary pushed.

It took another minute and forkful of food for Kate to answer:

"When I left Point Rock, I thought I could use thousands of miles… and training and time to get over her. For the last few months I even thought it worked. I thought I could live my life without her in it. But then you called me. Just out of the blue and with no other motive other than to keep me informed but…" Kate fell silent for another moment lost in thought. "She'd been out of my life for years, and I'd done everything I could to move on and leave that part in the dust. But everything came flooding back when you said she'd been taken. I… I had tried so hard to write her out of my life; to move on from all of that, but it had never occurred to me how afraid I was of a world without her in it. All of that work and effort to… and when you called to tell me… I was so scared of what might happen to her."

"So this… all of this is… you think you're protecting her?" Mary asked. Her tone was a mix of curiosity and disbelief.

"Do you know how many people know Kate Kane is Batwoman?" Kate answered with a question.

"I… no, not really. There's me and Luke… and this Parker girl?"

"And Beth and Mouse and Tommy Elliot and any number of others they've let the secret slip to."

"So?"

"What?" Kate scowled.

"So what?"

"I… Mary, in the wrong hands that information could be disastrous. You and Luke and anyone I'm close to could be at risk. That's why this is so dangerous."

"No, I get that. You beat it into my head when you told me. But what I'm trying to say is that's not really fair though," Mary replied.

"What? How… what?"

"You gave Luke and me a choice," Mary began softly. "I mean… it took you over a year to tell me, but at least you told me. If I thought it was too dangerous I could have walked away. Same for Luke. We both know the risks and choose to stay. You haven't given Sophie that option - you've chosen for her. That's not really fair."

"It's not that easy," Kate said defensively but without explanation.

"Is it not easy because you're Batwoman or because you're Kate Kane?" Mary asked, honing in on the source of Kate's reservations. She watched Kate pick at the scraps left on her plate with her fork for a moment.

"Can it be both?" Kate whispered, and Mary realized the pause was an attempt to swallow down the well of emotions brimming in Kate's eyes.

"Sure," Mary said, bringing an arm around Kate and pulling her close.


End file.
